Children walking the halls

Lovers kissing in the stairwell

Friends sharing a joke between classes 

Tired students scrambling 

Half-finished homework in their hands

Can you hear the screams?

 

Suddenly, a sound freezes a moment 

Stories are left mid-sentence, 

Abandoned as the world stops. 

Every single thing holds its breath,

Bam 

Can you hear the screams?

 

We scatter, desperate to find safety. 

Any door that will lock,

Every dark corner filled with bodies.

We abandon all, nothing matters now,

As we race to save our lives

Can you hear the screams?

 

The world has again gone silent

We sit, hearts racing, eyes closed,

Tears pooling, not allowed to fall,

For fear that the sound of terror,

Would be heard in a single drop. 

Can you hear the screams?

 

Mom stops work for the call, 

The unshed tears of her child 

Roll freely down her cheeks,

Dad abandoned the cart, racing for the car

And although they can do nothing but wait, they are there.

Can you hear the screams?

 

Fast forward years later,

As nightmares plague the living 

And death has reaped its chosen 

Though some walked out that day,

None truly survived 

And I ask you again 

Can you hear the screams?