Return to child’s pose
and hide under desks.
You’re harder to shoot through walls this way.
Return to child’s pose
and don’t make a peep.
Play “Still as Statues” in the storage closet.
Return to child’s pose.
Place your hands above your heads,
or to the sides of each target— each body. Your bodies.
Return to child’s pose.
Find innocence in your age, your parents, and everyone
who sends you to this building each weekday.
Rest. Recharge. Revive.
Reflect on the circle of things, and above all,
remember to breathe! Quietly, if you can.
Amy Baskin’s work is currently featured in armarolla, Apparition Lit, Friends Journal, and more. When she’s not writing, she works to ensure that international students at Lewis & Clark College feel welcome and at home during their stay.
Photograph by Walter Albertin, 1962. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
califragile.org 