Trigger Warning Written By Kai Foster Poem by David Bowden

Warning
Trigger warning
There has been another mass shooting on U.S. soil
We mean trigger warning

Warning: we have experienced blank school shootings and it is only the blank day of 2018
It's easier to leave the date blank before the next shooting
He didn't leave blanks, he left kids dead and hurting

Surprise: several thoughts and prayers later, nothing has happened
Reality: saving gun control to a later date saves time for him to plot his next attack

100 gunshots erupt in a South Florida high school on Valentine's day,
But who is really counting?
400 students have been victims of school shootings since 2012
And that is just in counting.
We repeat, blank school shootings have occurred within the first 60 days of 2018,
but who is really counting?

The media constantly questions the demeanor of the shooter
Was he isolated?
Did he have any friends?
Did he have a troubled family?
Who the hell cares
The solution to gun violence is not keeping the white male company

But I heard he was
An orphan
a troubled teen
a broken boy with no friends,
Those are all really weird ways to say domestic terrorist

Apparently guns aren't the issue, it's the person behind the gun.
But when these people are reported, law enforcement accepts the kickback
and here's the blowback
As a nation we recoil until the next round shoots our kids in the back
And now we have Kevlar inserted in our backpacks

People say our western suburb of Hinsdale is safe
So was Parkland
And Newtown
And Columbine

People from Hinsdale say cities like Chicago are dangerous
Wanna talk about gang banging, throwing up hand signs,

Disregard that the violence there is due to white ignorance and unpaid reparations
I've yet to hear about a school shooting caused by someone in an inner city gang.
Bang.
The media is fascinated by people of color only when they are involved in a gang.
Bang.
For a white male to be considered a terrorist does he need to be affiliated with somebody's gang.
Bang.

I'm a girl who used to have yoruba running through her veins that now can barely utter a phrase unless it's in valley girl speak
I'm a black girl who relocated from Chicago because my mom wasn't sure about the school system
I'm a Mexican gay born in the barrio and I've forgotten my Spanish to remain safe
I'm visibly Muslim and learned to act white
But somehow, we are the targets caught in the crosshairs of victim blaming

Living in the U.S. is writing a three minute poem on the normalization of school shootings
Living in the U.S. is knowing we're averaging one school shooting every 63 hours
Living in the U.S. is being judged based on how well you can tell the audience that we've had enough of school shootings

More and more police officers combing the halls will not protect you.
Locking your doors and blocking your ears will not protect you.
Teachers with guns instead of Shakespeare will not protect you.
Four women of color writing this poem will not protect you.

Warning: we have experienced blank school shootings and it is only the blank day of 2018
It's still easier to leave the date blank before the next shooting
He didn't leave blanks, he left kids dead and hurting

Surprise: several thoughts and prayers later, nothing has happened.
Reality: several thoughts and prayers later, nothing has happened.

Ash Wednesday is meant to be a day of peace.
Valentine's Day is meant to be a day of love.
Now we see those we love in pieces
Now those in pieces are turned to ash

This is a trigger warning
Warning
Warning
Warning

This poem was written by one of my favorite poets: Kai Davis