Duck and Cover – a New Meaning
Miah Cerrillo, 11, told U.S. lawmakers how she tried
to save her own life after the gunman shot a friend next to
her, saying, “I got the blood and put it all over me.”
Hiding under shaky plywood desks
No bomb would dare disintegrate
More worried about Maxie Jenkins
Staring up our dresses than the Russians
Agonizing our mothers’ anger for smudging
The bleached panties with the dirty floor
Fearful the chewed gum under the desks
Would filter into our curled hair
The only blood
A skinned knee at recess
12 thoughts on "Duck and Cover – a New Meaning"
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Meaningful tribute. And “Maxie Jenkins staring up our dresses”
oh wow!
The juxtaposition of the 11-year- old girl at Uvalde who survived by covering with her friend’s blood with the girl before school shootings whose worries seem innocent, trivial is brilliant. Two girls in such different times.
Shelda – Good to hear from you! Looking forward to the Buddha gathering.
Brings clarity to the realization that we cannot know what our children are dealing with and as parents and teachers, we feel vulnerable and at the mercy of those with power, money and guns. This is truth.
Brilliant but painful poem.
As a child of the 50s I can resonate with the theme, but you’ve turned it powerfully on its head with impact.
Yeah, this is a painful one, but so, so necessary.
I just can’t deal with that image, the reality of how that 11-year-old saved herself, and how that might reverberate through the rest of her life. So unimaginable.
I so agree with Karen, above. It’s agonizing to think of what they will live with. And this poem draws out that pain.
Brilliant capture from little girl eyes.
Agonizing our mothers’ anger for smudging
The bleached panties with the dirty floor
Fearful the chewed gum under the desks
Would filter into our curled hair
The only blood
A skinned knee at recess
Wow. Heartbreaking and powerful.