Shirley L. Ala, MPAS, PA-C

I felt compelled to write this poem after the mass shooting in Uvalde. Death by bullets is the second leading cause of death in children in this country, second only to motor vehicle accidents. Yet the National Rifle Association held its annual conference just days after the shooting, defending their “right” to own military-style weaponry, designed solely for mass shootings.

. We have a responsibility to give our children a safe and inspiring childhood. After all, these children will soon be the leaders of our communities, our nation, and our world.

Lives, their beloved bullets taking lives,

Let us honor their short sweet childhood,

Not cowardly with bullets, and lives lost.

has been a physician assistant for more than 20 years, working mainly in family practice as well as psychiatry. She has psychiatric experience working in corrections as well as inpatient geriatric psychiatry and crisis care at the University of Utah (Huntsman Mental Health Institute). She also served as a volunteer provider for several years at the Impact Clinic in Salt Lake City, a free mental health clinic, founded by Noel C. Gardner, MD. She won a commendation for her poem, “Barriers,” in the Hippocrates Society for Poetry and Medicine poetry contest in 2021. She recently moved to central Maine. She can be reached at 

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A physician assistant writes a poem inspired by the recent mass shooting in Uvalde.

Shirley L. Ala, MPAS, PA-C

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