Paper Chain

…police told youngsters to close their eyes as they were led from the building so that they wouldn’t see the blood and broken glass. (AP News)

“Close your eyes.”
It’s usually a benediction
A reassurance —

But today, it’s a protection —
The eyelid as a tender, slender shield
A thin panel of tissue
Slid over what remains of your innocence

Darkness —
Usually a child fears the dark
But today, darkness is defense
The eye closes, the darkness comes
for the living, and the lost —

Light, carnage, the fearful eyes of your teacher
Fluorescent lights and school rules
Drowsy routine and hope of vacation
vanish —

In their place, the touch of a hand
A friend before, a friend behind
A paper chain of children files numbly to safety

For now, warm hands in the dark
are all there is.