Another Flag at Half-Mast

Another Flag at Half-Mast

When it happened for the first time,

tragedy was not routine

and the bodies

we held in our arms soaked blood

through our scrubs, marred us deep.

These children

dying should never be routine –

we resuscitate each broken child

like our own child,

still seeing them play on the soccer field

or dance bright in the sheen of rain.

Children are dying

and we take their last pulse and we

ask everyone about firearm safety.

We know it’s not enough.

Sophia Gorgens, MD is an emergency medicine resident at Zucker-Northwell NS/LIJ.

She went to medical school at Emory University and undergraduate school at Boston College.