The Blanket

Chloe Jeon

Innocent children turn to

Corpses

Swept away by the current

Pure white child’s blanket

Stained with the impurities of life

Then tossed away like a rag

Leaving behind

An empty slate

Filled and erased with

Empty heads and empty tongues

Over and over

Again

Without stopping

Without slowing

Without thinking

Unknowingly drowning in a river of

“Pop culture”

Social media

Division and exclusion

The mother begs the child

“Please don’t throw away your blanket”

That blanket that

She stitched for hours past midnight

For her beloved child

That blanket that

Kept them safe from the river

That blanket that

Taught them to live

That blanket that

The children tossed away like a rag

Turning to mindless corpses

Not knowing

Not aware of the fact

That they could reach for their blankets

And stop for a moment

And maybe

Just maybe

Start living

Their lives