In Second's Wasteland | Teen Ink

In Second's Wasteland

September 5, 2018
By Madeliaccola PLATINUM, Asheville, North Carolina
Madeliaccola PLATINUM, Asheville, North Carolina
27 articles 0 photos 2 comments

I gaze out the window

and contemplate

how swiftly I could open it,

the routes home, and

people I’d follow and lead.

I alienate the alienated

in case they blame me,

knowing most things

cannot stop them quickly.

I hug the sidelines, yet

scatter my eyes for a badge.

I surround myself with phones

so I can always call home.

I learn my sister’s schedule

in case I must protect her,

and hide my own, in case

I might be followed.

I have declined before,

and today is not the day

to say no; for one might

say it to the wrong person.


If you cannot say yes,

say nothing at all.


Yet


If you do not speak,

you’ll let us all fall.


We are one

in the eye of a gun,


so we put our lives

before Second’s fun.


The author's comments:

This is a very unique piece among my other work, simply because it's a protest. It's one of my easiest to find the meaning of, but that's because I want to make it very readable. This is in response to the amount of school shootings in recent years, and the shocking occurence of them already this year, only a few days into most people's school years. This is an account through the eyes of a high school student and the fear that spawns from the news of these shootings. This is also a critique of the Second Amendment and an expression the desire to alter it, as I firmly believe it makes sense only in a time when firearms were not as advanced as they've become. Hence, the full title of this piece is "In Second's Wasteland." I really hope to inspire readers with this and perhaps help people further understand this battle in the eyes of a student. Vide te mox!


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