1 school
3 suicides
Within 11 months
Broke 4,000 spirits
10,000 facts
On what can be done
To save 1 next to you
Or 2
Or 4.
No promise
As to what tomorrow will bring.
But all we have are numbers
That seem to only rise.
1 child with Autism
Dealing with the constant struggle
Using 85 different ways to connect
With the 120 classmates he sees each day.
Reaching out for help to the 300 staff and administration
But they’re too busy writing up the 500th bullying assembly.
So few acts of kindness can save so many
1 unanswered cry for help can lead to 1,000 cries of mourning.
This 1 autistic child arrives to class
And sees that he has been beat by a group of 3
Dismissed and rejected
For the 357th time
A torn family looks for a 358th “solution”
For the 6,000,000th time
A parent-teacher conference failed
Walking away with nothing but
A principal’s blank face
And a teacher’s distorted reasoning
For they must be thinking about the 501st bullying assembly.
All it takes is for a school of 3,000 kids
To make the lives of each other
Easier to live day by day.
To make the 3 short-lived lives
Teach a lesson
And bring 1 smile among many.