SUCHETA SRIKANTH reads her original poem, inspired by the school shootings in Ulvade, Texas, at the town’s March for Our Lives rally in 2022. Her poem has won a Scholastic Gold Key award. (Eric Evans Photo)

 

 

NORTH READING — A poem on school shootings, “Untitled,” written by North Reading High School senior Sucheta Srikanth in the aftermath of the Robb Elementary School Shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and read by her at the “March for Our Lives” rally organized in North Reading, has won the 2024 Scholastic Gold Key for Poetry.

Rather than being celebratory, Sucheta chose to bring further awareness to the issue recalling that the most recent school shooting in Georgia “is a stark reminder that we are not doing enough to solve this problem.” According to the K-12 School Shooting Database (https://k12ssdb.org/), which tracks school shootings across our country, 702 people have died since that rally.” She continued, “We must continue to campaign against this senseless violence.”

Two of her other poems, “I Wanted to See the World” and “Bite” also won Honorable Mentions. Sucheta has penned over 100 poems to date and her poetry has won state and national awards in the past. Her poem “What a Birdfeeder Brings,” won first place at the state and regional levels and second place nationally in the Garden Club’s Environmental Poetry Contest two years ago.

Charlene Malek, President of the North Reading Garden Club, recalled: “Sucheta has incredible insight to reflect upon a topic and a gifted way to express her thoughts that conveys emotions and her message. I vividly remember how her creative submission in the National Garden Club Environmental Poetry Contest indicated her personal and family connection to the wonders of observing birds within the local community.”

The nationwide Scholastic Awards recognizes creative achievements for high school students.  Scholastic Gold Key is the highest regional award bestowed on the best writing pieces in the region.

All Scholastic Regional Gold Key entries advance to the National round. The 2024 Massachusetts Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is sponsored by The Boston Globe in partnership with Tufts University.

Sucheta’s Scholastic Gold Key poem is reprinted below in its entirety, including the explanatory introduction that she wrote to accompany her entry.

“The poem describes the palpable fear during those brief moments when a school is under attack by a gunman and how one should never have to be prepared for these events. I wrote this poem for a “March for Our Lives” protest in town. This student-led rally included a vigil and speeches, and I was honored to have a chance to read this poem at the event.”

Untitled

By Sucheta Srikanth

North Reading High School

Scholastic Gold Key winner

She waltzes into the building,

a new dress, a new day.
She knows her presentation by heart,

and smiles when her friends wave.

He runs into the classroom,

always two minutes late.

Mumbles the list of presidents,

and their inauguration dates.

A few hours later:
Crouched on the toilet,
she holds her breath.
Hums to the sound of screams,

and sends out her final text.

He’s curled up under the table.

Play dead, Fake asleep, they say.

A gun cocks, and blood pools.
He wishes he had skipped that day.

All across the country,
a moment of silence for them.

A knot in every stomach,

pray it doesn’t happen again.

Nothing prepared them for this,
and nothing ever will.
No amount of evacuations
will teach them…to watch someone kill.