after it happened again

I sent my kids to school today

with images in my head of little bodies

no bigger than theirs

shredded by metal and powder and anger

and ignorance

lessons left unlearned

I sent them to school

because I can teach them to read

to add and subtract

and to multiply

I can teach them history

and even some physics

but I cannot teach them

what they need to know

to live in this world

I sent my kids

to learn

that black women and men

make smart and capable teachers

and principals,

that Muslim friends

may not eat our marshmallows

or fruit snacks

but they still can play,

that not everyone speaks English

at home,

that working in a group

can be hard

but you can do it

if you try

and you better try

to find a way

and yes–

I sent them to learn

the lessons no one talks about:

that if you ride your bike

you need to lock it up,

that not all the grown-ups

in the world

care as much about them

as the ones they know,

that they should always have a way

to get out

or to hide,

that leaving the house is risky

but so is staying home,

that there is no such thing as “safe”

not really,

that we’re raising them

to change things

poem (c) 2022 and photograph (c) 2021 D. Ohlandt

please only reprint in entirety and with credit given