Poem for Parkland: I Can’t Feel My Head

Valentine’s Day at MSD
I go through my classes as my daily routine
The fire alarm is pulled twice today
An announcement is made to evacuate

I approach the bottom of the stairs
I see kids running as confusion tears
I make a U turn and head to the room
When gun shots erupt our school faces doom

Still without knowing if it’s just a drill
Hiding in the closet as our nerves fill
I receive a text from my mom “are you okay?”
That’s the moment I knew this isn’t a normal birthday

Yes, indeed I turned fifteen this day
Goodbye is something to my classmates I never got to say
I lost too many friends thanks to Nikolas Cruz
Until gun policy changes how many more do I have to lose?

I sat in a closet scared and confused
As our second amendment rights were being abused
No one needs an AR-15
Unless it is to kill and injure over seventeen

Seventeen is far too many
As I turn on the news with my palms all sweaty
I see my friend is missing, Jaime Guttenberg
I frantically start typing a text to her.
I have some hope sending “ARE YOU OKAY???”
Less than one miute later my hope faded away
She has been confirmed dead
Emotions fill up as I can’t feel my head

Thanks to lack of help for a clear mental illness and an AR-15
When I go back to class Jaime will not be seen
I saw her the morning of the shooting
Not knowing this friend I would be losing

In order to cope I got a new puppy
A maltipoo less than two pounds and fluffy
We gave her a name as a tribute to MSD
She cheers everyone up welcome to the family, Misty

Samantha Deitsch is a student at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. This poem was shared on social media and has gone viral on Twitter.