Standard Operating Procedure
Across the street
They’re building a new school
Where one day the children
Will learn and
Laugh and
Play and
Fight,
Make friends,
Bully one another
Or maybe
Be bullied
But those kids will
Never know what happened
Here yesterday
(I hope)
Because yesterday morning
A construction worker
21 years old
Slipped and
Fell head-first into a hole
The hole was only six feet deep
But it was surrounded by sand
And the sand slid down
Caved in
On top of the man
Leaving only his feet exposed
And the rest of him
Buried
No one noticed
Until it was nearly too late
And then
The firemen came
But they wouldn’t dig
Into the sand
Because of some technicality
That violated
Standard operating procedure
So
The people gathered around
They all saw his boots moving
Until the boots didn’t move anymore
Is there a worse way to go
Than
Alone with your thoughts
Under 6 feet of sand?
All those people gathered around
Looking
Talking
Horrified
You and your thoughts
Dying
Surrounded by
All those people,
Dying
So desperately
Alone
