100

Tried to go to the police and start singing
Dropped out of school start slinging
He went to jail and turned to the beast
There are guns in the streets, there will never be peace

James Lofton

101

Dropped out of school start slinging
Blue siren lights now have a different meaning
There are guns in the streets, there will never be peace
With no hope, things will never change in the city

Elise Fong and Anujin Batbold

102

Blue siren lights now have new meaning: 
Blown smoke—with gun barrels seething. 
With no hope, no change in our city 
Still pushed aside for skin, like clothes too ill-fitting. 

Ryan Hurley and Nathaniel Leonhardt

103

Blown smoke—with gun barrels seething
To “serve and protect”, empty words in a pair.
Still pushed aside for skin, like clothes too ill-fitting.
Say their names out loud, let every letter touch the air.

Claire Newby and Falon Young

104

To “serve and protect”, empty words in a pair.
The system cannot protect these murderers no more.
Say their names out loud, let every letter touch the air.
Justice for all, black lives are who we are fighting for.

Carolyn Kedryna and Sampson Traenkle

105

The system cannot protect these murderers no more.
Punishment of the four isn’t all that we demand.
Justice for all, black lives are who we are fighting for.
So we must take to the streets, hand in hand.

Amanda Tournillon and Brianna-Paige Alegbeleye

106

Punishment of the four isn’t all that we demand.
To rebuild from the roots we stand against the core.
So we must take to the streets, hand in hand.
And continue to shout for the equality we’ve been longing for. 

Christopher Silber and Daniah Ibrahim

107

To rebuild from the roots we stand against the core.
The country we live in cannot be like this anymore
And continue to shout for the equality we’ve been longing for. 
In a country we built ourselves from steel and ore

Emily Einhorn and Matthew White

108

The country we live in cannot be like this anymore;
No-knocks pull us from bed.
In a country we built ourselves from steel and ore,
Now shaped to pierce our heads.

Blake Laymon

109

No-knocks pull us from bed.
A world we live in with adult supervision,
Now shaped to pierce our heads.
I guess It was all for some more lost recognition.

Jacob Cabrera

110

A world we live in with adult supervision.
We take their rules as law,
I guess. It was all for some more lost recognition.
Watching as flaw uncovers flaw.

Anabelle Chinski

111

We take their rules as law,
Chained to the narratives and beliefs that don’t fit us Watching as flaw uncovers flaw. Dividing instead of uniting

Jordan Dawson

112

Chained to the narratives and beliefs that don’t fit us
Put into boxes we cannot escape. Dividing instead of uniting Wishing they would fight us with love instead of hate.

Seth Richardson

113

Put into boxes we cannot escape. We wail into the blue-riddled void Wishing they would fight us with love instead of hate
A new weapon is pressed against our temples

Caroline Barton

114

We wail into the blue-riddled void Longing for someone to overhear our cries A new weapon is pressed against our temples An uncertain future lies before us

Delani Hamilton

115

Longing for someone to overhear our cries. We’re returned with silence that deepens the wound.
An uncertain future lies before us,
But change will come soon. Right?

Natalie Greene

116

We’re returned with silence that deepens the wound. A cold and unsettling feeling that could shake a room
But change will come soon. Right?
It’s easy to feel helpless like we are all doomed

Nailah Montano

117

A cold and unsettling feeling that could shake a room The truth being muddled by one’s own interpretation It’s easy to feel helpless like we are all doomed Yearning for an empathetic undivided nation

Sam Batjes

118

The truth being muddled by one’s own interpretation To protect oneself, they claim; yet at the cost and endangerment of innocence. Yearning for an empathetic undivided nation To stop seeing the fear in a child’s eyes and break tradition of violence.

Dani Haske

119

To protect oneself, they claim; yet at the cost and endangerment of innocence. We lie to ourselves, to our loved ones, to the world, to the coming generations To stop seeing the fear in a child’s eyes and break tradition of violence. But how could we when violence and fear are woven into the flag we claim to praise?

Elise Flor

120

We lie to ourselves, to our loved ones, to the world, to the coming generations We try the truth, disfigured and obscured by the native blizzard’s snow But how could we when violence and fear are woven into the flag we claim to praise? A flag whose glory we worship but whose injustice we ignore

Caolan Meehan

121

We try the truth, disfigured, and obscured by the native blizzard’s snow So lost in that storm, that even your own become strange  A flag whose glory we worship, but whose injustice we ignore A nation whose founders we follow, and their behavior ingrained

Ian Havemann

122

So, lost in that storm that even your own become strange  We belch out the promises of better days yet to come A nation whose founders we follow, and their behavior ingrained Topped off with Pork barrel spending to fatten their gains

Chris Garcia Peak

123

We belch out the promises of better days yet to come
Yet fail to address why so many are in pain
Topped off with Pork barrel spending to fatten their gains
Those chosen to represent us hardly know us at all

Jacob Albrecht

124

Yet fail to address, why? So many are in pain
Absorbed in their passion of pointing the blame
Those chosen to represent us hardly know us at all
History is written by those who didn’t fall

Crystal Pacheco

125

Absorbed in their passion of pointing the blame
Their blame is more important than the real truth
History is written by those who didn’t fall
Those who didn’t fall aren’t writing the real truth

Jack Theil

126

BLAME’S MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE TRUTH!
triggers when I shoot, already walked a lifetime in these hand-me-down shoes,
THOSE WHO DIDN’T FALL AREN’T WRITING THE REAL TRUTH!
broken—we push through—always—our lives they dilute—stay strong—always—my youth.

Cristian Andres Mora

127

triggers when I shoot, already walked a lifetime in these hand-me-down shoes,
oversized t-shirt, dyed scarlet red, scattered panes of glass next to his head
broken—we push through—always—our lives they dilute—stay strong—always—my youth.
he hoped for college for his sisters, his mom to be fed; until that morning he awoke to hollow points instead

Eli Foster

128

oversized t-shirt, dyed scarlet red, shattered pans of glass next to his head,
one looks and weeps but no one dares to speak, rather they swallow their grief
he hoped for college for his sisters, his mom to be fed; until that morning he awoke to hollow points instead
images of the ones who once were, ripped, framed or stored, all there to help them cope

Jasmin Rios

129

one looks and weeps but no one dares to speak, rather they swallow their grief
All the lessons, promises, the costs; here lies the list of all lives lost
images of the ones who once were ripped, framed or stored, all there to help them cope
”Never again” yet seldom we see, a news story that doesn’t end in tragedy

Devin Perjak

130

Al the lessons, promises, the costs; here lies the list of all lives lost
Family, Friends, Neighbors dressed all in black, giving condolences for those on the plaques
”Never again” yet seldomly we see, a news story that doesn’t end in tragedy
”Yesterday was a really bad day for him, and this is what he did.”

Kaylee Hamm

131

Family, Friends, Neighbors dressed all in black, giving condolences for those on the plaques
Picture boards and flower wreaths hung around the casket, people handing around the donation basket
”Yesterday was a really bad day for him, and this is what he did.”
I guess his dread started when waking up on the wrong side of the bed

Nelly Vazquez

132

Picture boards and flower wreaths hung around the casket, people handing around the donation basket
The happy memories once shared, now brought pain to the heart beyond repair
I guess his dread started when waking up on the wrong side of the bed
No one knew it would end up like this, and now they say goodbye with one last kiss

Tayah Fox

133

The happy memories once shared, now brought pain to the heart beyond repair
A series of betrayal and distress. No amount of therapy could fix this mess.
No one knew it would end up like this, and now say goodbye with one last kiss
Broken hearts and promises perished, because this was the end of their 20 year marriage.

Axel Wolff

134

A series of betrayal and distress. No amount of therapy could fix this mess.
The rivers of tears, left their vows drenched. Once was a promise with a yes
Broken hearts and promises perished, because this was the end of their 20 year marriage.
Once was a whole, is now two, again. Departing off into the world, in their own carriage.

Michaela Reese

135

The rivers of tears, left their vows drenched. One was a promise with a yes
Once was two, split down the middle. A whole of people worth awhile.
Once was a whole, is now two, again. Departing off into the world, in their own carriage
A carriage of steel roses, weighing them down. Piercing the moon, out of time again.

Dawson Larriuz

136

Once was two, split down the middle. A whole of people worth awhile.
Clasping their hands on a bouquet, their final gifts to be placed on
A carriage of roses, weighing them down. Piercing the moon, out of time again.
Beneath the stars that shimmer like teardrops.

Raissa Thomas

137

Hands clasp a final bouquet, one gift placed on
A cold, dark grave.
Stars shimmer in tears,
Death: a universal loss of light.

Kennedy Curtis

138

Cold, dark graves,
Or rather ghosts gather to mourn.
Death, a universal loss of light;
One more shot, no chance to shine.

Lauren Gomez

139

Ghosts gather to mourn—
thank thankless survivors.
Another loss, a bullet’s shine.
One chance cast aside. Metal casings.

Chloe Korn

140

Survivors
Stare in rooms at the dust of absence.
A family’s chance, wasted casings.
Their dreams, blood on concrete.

Emma Lagman

141

They stare in rooms at the dust of absence;
Empty chairs nod to doorway shadows.
Lost dreams bleed into concrete,
Streetlamps bear witness.

Emma Ludman

142

Empty chairs and doorway shadows.
Under the veil of Austin, 1000 North Lavergne,
Streetlamps stand and witness.
Oliver Booth, say his name, he didn’t have to die.

Marty McCahill

143

Under the veil of Austin, 1000 North Lavergne,
A homicide, an open crime.
Oliver Booth, say his name, he didn’t have to die.
The bullets hit. The light leaves eyes.

Phoebe Nerem

144

A homicide, an open crime.
This undeniable plague claims another young life.
Bullets hit chests. Light leaves eyes.
We travel alone through nights, unsuspecting.

Kiara Pauli

145

This plague claims another young life.
She falls softly…shocked numbness.
She traveled alone, unsuspecting.
More scarlet spills, streets crack the night.

Ian Pickering

146

She fell softly. Shocked numbness.
A mother is left mourning her child.
More blood spills in these city streets.
One bullet destroys. So many lives.

Weronika Pierzchala

147

A mother left mourning her child.
A son left waiting, his father gone.
One bullet destroys lives.
Bullets kill the chance of life.

Haley Pratt

148

A son left waiting, his father gone.
Prone, vacant outline, stub of sidewalk chalk.
Bullets kill the chance of life.
Manufacturers of war—never keepers of peace.

Thomas Sheridan

149

Prone, vacant outline, stub of sidewalk chalk.
Skin—scraped against streets—guns:
Manufacturers of war!—not keepers of peace.
May bullets bend to the heart’s thumping pleas.

Tommy Sulentic

150

Skin—scraped against streets—guns:
A brother loses a loved brother.
May bullets bend to the heart’s thumping pleas.
He wonders, how can a brother be murdered?

Kaitlyn Svinning

151

A brother loses a loved brother.
Gunpowder stains darker than blood.
How can a brother be murdered in broad day?
We watch: bullets block out the sun

Juan Ugarte

152

Gunpowder stains darker than blood.
The dead watch from every corner.
We watch: bullets block out the sun.
Who’s next, whose gun?

Angelina Davila

153

The dead watch from every corner—
Friends and loved ones, cold.
Who’s next, whose gun?
This climate of blood

Kevin Barry

154

No-knocks pull us from bed.
A world that we live in with adult supervision,
Now shaped to pierce our heads.
I guess it was all for some more lost recognition.

Jacob Cabrera

155

A world that we live in with adult supervision.
We take their rules as law.
I guess. It was for some more lost recognition.
Watching as flaw uncovers flaw.

Anabelle Chinski

156

We take their rules as law,
Chained to the narratives and beliefs that don’t fit us
Watching as flaw uncovers flaw.
Dividing instead of uniting.

Jordan Dawson

157

Chained to the narratives and beliefs that don’t fit us
Put into boxes we cannot escape.
Dividing instead of uniting
Wishing they would fight us with love instead of hate.

Seth Richardson

158

Put into boxes we cannot escape
We wail into the blue-riddled void
Wishing they would fight us with love instead of hate
A new weapon is pressed against our temples

Caronline Barton

159

We wail into the blue-riddled void
Longing for someone to overhear our cries
A new weapon is pressed against our temples
An uncertain future lies before us

Delani Barton

160

Longing for someone to overhear our cries
We’re returned with silence that deepens the wound
An uncertain future lies before us
But change will come soon. Right?

Natalie Green

161

We’re returned with silence that deepens the wound
A cold and unsettling feeling that could shake a room
But change will come soon. Right?
It’s easy to feel helpless like we’re all doomed

Natalie Montano

162

A cold and unsettling feeling that could shake a room
The truth being muddled by one’s own interpretation
It’s easy to feel helpless like we’re all doomed
Yearning for an empathetic undivided nations

Sam Batjes

163

The truth being muddled by one’s own interpretation
To protect oneself, they claim; yet at the cost and endangerment of innocence.
Yearning for an empathetic undivided nations
To stop seeing the fear in a child’s eyes and break tradition of violence.

Dani Haske

164

To protect oneself, they claim; yet at the cost and endangerment of innocence.
We lie t ourselves, to our loved ones, to the world, to the coming generations
To stop seeing the fear in a child’s eyes and break tradition of violence.
But how could we when violence and fear are woven into the flag we claim to praise?

Elise Flor

165

We lie t ourselves, to our loved ones, to the world, to the coming generations
Why try the truth, disfigured and obscured by the native blizzard’s snow
But how could we when violence and fear are woven into the flag we claim to praise?
A flag whose glory we worship, but whose injustice we ignore

Caolan Mehan

166

Why try the truth, disfigured and obscured by the native blizzard’s snow
So lost in that storm, that even your own become strange
A flag whose glory we worship, but whose injustice we ignore
A nation whose founders we follow, and their behavior ingrained

Ian Havemann

167

So lost in that storm, that even your own become strange
We belch out the promises of better days yet to come
A nation whose founders we follow, and their behavior ingrained
Topped off with Pork barrel spending to fatten their gains

Chris Garcia Peak

168

We belch out the promises of better days yet to come
Promises we fail to deliver
Topped off with Pork barrel spending to fatten their gains
Watching our youths being mass murdered

Elias Ahumada

169

Promises we fail to deliver
Bleach our gums and taint our tongues,
Watching our youths being mass murdered
Leaves our lungs clenched, raw, burning.

Des Brooks

170

Bleaching our gums & tainting our tongues,
T.V. static sterilizes the bodies we count
Leaves our lungs clenched, raw, burning
Seized by the metal-jacket’s sweet poison

Michael Dean

171

T.V. static sterilizes the bodies we count
Erupting beneath our concrete conscience
Seized by the metal-jacket’s sweet poison
Marching feet muted by hollow-pointed passion

Tyler Gentzel

172

Erupting beneath our concrete conscience
Where tears won’t wash the blood away
Marching feet muted by hollow-pointed passion
Too numb, too exhausted for thoughts or prayers

Janet

173

Where tears won’t wash the blood away
Denial does the trick
Too numb, too exhausted for thoughts or prayers
We sing grief into caskets, let ourselves ache a song towards God.

Meghan Malachi

174

Denial does the trick
But who knows for how long
We sing grief into caskets, let ourselves ache a song towards God.
So to make it to the next day.

Jermaine Nolen

175

Who knows for how long
We speckle the wind with the ashes of our neighbors
So to make it to the next day
We stand, what’s left of us, arm in arm, against all arms.

Dan O’Hara

176

We speckle the wind with the ashes of our neighbors
The children that once roamed the roads, now a memory.
We stand, what’s left of us, arm in arm, against all arms
Hoping to put an end to this senseless treachery.

Sara Shahein

177

The children that once roamed the roads, now a memory.
Endless richochet of thought, pray, and repeat.
Hoping to put an end to this senseless treachery,
we petition for change, that we have yet to see.

Maggie Veach

178

Endless ricochet of thought, pray, and repeat
Militarized police patrol our neighborhoods
We petition for change that we have yet to see.
A justice system rooted in American slavery

Lindsay Wilson

179

Militarized police patrol our neighborhoods
Easier to own a gun than a rainbow flag
A justice system rooted in American slavery
Just one more drop in a bucket filled with blood

Genevieve Boucher

180

Easier to own a gun than a rainbow flag
Too much violence these kids have been in
Just one more drop in a bucket filled with blood
The city’s feeling more like a coffin

Jin Burke

181

Too much violence these kids have been in
Scarlet rivers flow over concrete
The city’s feeling more like a coffin
15 years underneath a white sheet

Caden Carpenter

182

Scarlet rivers flow over concrete
A sky slashed with silver trails
15 years underneath a white sheet
And punctured stars on a bloody veil

Bernardo Da Costa Soares

183

A sky slashed with silver trails
It’s a known secret we all share
And punctured stars on a bloody veil
People would think we are watching a movie, we just stop and stare

Erik De La Torre

184

It’s a known secret we all share
We offer our children as tribute to our own violence
People would think we are watching a movie, we just stop and stare
Six dead from my home; too many shots; can’t hear the silence

Virginia Derrick

185

We offer our children as tribute to our own violence
Schools as unsafe as a warzone
Six dead from my home; too many shots; can’t hear the silence Too many parents shopping for a gravestone

Elliot Dreher

186

Schools as unsafe as a warzone
Hopeless kids lack communication
Too many parents shopping for a gravestone
Vigils replace the graduations

Megan Ferguson

187

Hopeless kids lack communication
A system cursed without reason
Vigils replace the graduations
Brutality and peace become uneven

CJ Friedlander

188

A system cursed without reason
290-gun salute, they rank above us all
Vigils replace the graduations
Favor candles over artillery

Tyler Guiney

189

290-gun salute, they rank above us all
Systemic injustice overrules common sense
Favor candles over artillery
Victims were slain, survivors live with the pain

Kiernan McCafferty

190

Systemic injustice overrules common sense
Save the people from this mess
Victims were slain, survivors live with the pain
Until the next day we must stay brave

Emma Motykowski

191

Save the people from this mess
Our streets are paved with brass and blood
Until the next day we must stay brave
God save the children, not the Armalite

Joe Sherman

192

Our streets are paved with brass and blood
Littered with hate and danger
God save the children, not the Armalite
Life has always mattered more than the weapon that steals it

Cielo Cabael-Castro

193

Littered with hate and danger
Our schools become a battlefield
Life has always mattered more than the weapon that steals it
The future is stained red in indifference

Emma Tiffany

194

Our schools become a battlefield
Congress pointing bloody fingers
The future is stained red in indifference
Still the smell of death lingers

Matteus Rabel

195

Congress pointing bloody fingers
In a chamber that will let out for recess soon
Still the smell of death lingers
Thoughts and prayers can fix that

Eleanor Meier

196

In a chamber that will let out for recess soon
Kids huddled in a corner scared for their lives
Thoughts and prayers can fix that
Without action it will not change

William Basquin

197

Kids huddled in a corner scared for their lives
All thinking and praying in the dusk of silence
Without action it will not change
In a chamber of bullets, there is no trigger

Isabel Bryan

198

Dusk of silence thinking and praying
Blood fills the streets politicians repeat speech
In a chamber there is no trigger
We wake up another life left to remember

Jonathan Burns

200

Repeated speech in a blood-filled street
Alarm bells sounds while students cheat
We wake with another life to remember
A new kind of monotony spreads like a fever

Sarah Coll

201

Alarm bells sound while students cheat
I never thought I’d hear them fire
I wake with another life to remember
Is this the end?

Gael Delgadillo

202

I never thought I’d hear them fire
Among the panicked screams
Is this the end?
I pray, “I love you, mom” to the skies

Cam Delvo

203

Among the panicked screams
Others lay as quiet as can be.
I pray, “I love you, mom” to the skies,
And hold her dangling image on my keychain closer to me

Miriam Gama

205

Others lay as quiet as can be,
A can of sardines turned sentient from fear.
Holding her dangling image closer to me,
Tears muddle with blood running down my cheeks.

Aly Mieczkowski

206

A can of sentient sardines full of fear
Opened in a kitchen or a schoolroom
Tears muddle with blood running down their cheeks
A flood that breaks too often and too soon

Owen O’Connell

207

Opened in a schoolroom
Bullets unleash gallons of blood
A flood that breaks too often and too soon
Never enough to satisfy the thirst of violence

Hugo Pletcher

208

Bullets unleash gallons upon gallons of blood
Red like our stripes, spilling across fabric
Never enough to satisfy the thirst of violence
Never enough to change our laws

Elaine Rath

209

Red like our stripes, spilling across fabric
Someone’s mother, sister, child—painted red
Never enough to change our laws
”Our deepest condolences for the families of those affected”

Moira Roche

210

Someone’s mother, sister, child—painted red
A life ended within seconds
”Our deepest condolences for the families of those affected”
A lifetime of grief caused by a split-second action

Isis Ramirez

211

A life ended within seconds
Bullets outnumber pencils
A lifetime of grief caused by a split-second action
My lead comes with an eraser

Erik Rydeberg

212

bullets outnumber pencils
wounds three hole punched
my lead comes with an eraser
and my homework a magazine

Isabella Lekas

213

Wounds three hole punched
Tombstone desks where the bodies rest
And my homework a magazine
And the classroom an unburied cemetery

Nathan Weagraff

214

Tombstone desks where the bodies rest
My life was given to chance
And the classroom an unburied cemetery
Everyone was a victim that day

Nicolas Carerra

215

My life was given to chance
Kids at other schools do drills now
Everyone was a victim that day
The halls are cleaned and life goes on

Emma Hornig

216

Kids at other schools do drills now
sitting in the dark and under desks.
The halls are cleaned and life goes on.
Nothing is done to prevent the danger.

Isabella Montes de Oca and Ruth Raogel

217

Sitting in the dark and under desks
dead or alive? The one behind the door decides.
Nothing is done to prevent the danger.
The mood switches as fast as the light switch.

Rainee and Madeline

218

Dead or alive? The one behind the door decides.
Split second decisions can change a life.
The mood switches as fast as the light switch, or not, there is still light, a chance to make things right.

Christian Martinez, Pedro Garcia, and April Marie Garcia

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