there is peace in the darkness, an

alluring sense of acceptance in failure

closed eyes & open eyes both see the same

but please

stick out your hand

& light a sparkler with me. for a moment

it won't be flashy, showy, or

even remotely special to the untrained eye

but those who've suffered the burden of 

knowing me will understand why

my next trick is magical.

from the seventh grader who

i hope that you rest easy as the world

tumbles down into fire

for you did everything you could

& we didn't do enough. it was never

your fate to carry the failures of

common sense & education, but now