Chain Reaction

Facing their mortality
Some fought back
Some were calm
Some matter of fact.
Most were terrified
And ran for their lives.
As the years passed
They struggled
In classrooms
With loud sounds -
With anxiety.
But remarkably
With the passage of time
They have emerged
Victorious
Instead of victimized -
Finding hope
Instead of hatred
Each one a link in
The chain
Of past to present,
Dark to light,
Hurt to healing.