…i forgot to say good morning today (Henry Dorn)

May 24, 2022 should have been a regular school day. The academic year was a few weeks from being done. Families across the United States prepared their loved ones for a normal day and sent them to school with the confidence that they would return home. Many schools have protocols and provisions designed to limit and/or eliminate the potential for danger on school grounds. Some also have security measures that include armed resource officers that service the local school district. The endgame is simple––protect our students.
May 24, 2022 was not a regular school day. The families of nineteen students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, TX lost loved ones to the third-deadliest school shooting to date in United States history:
Students
Nevaeh Alyssa Bravo, 10
Jacklyn Jaylen Cazares, 9
Makenna Lee Elrod, 10
Jose Manuel Flores Jr., 10
Eliahna Amyah Garcia, 9
Uziyah Sergio Garcia, 10
Amerie Jo Garza, 10
Xavier James Lopez, 10
Jayce Carmelo Luevanos, 10
Tess Marie Mata, 10
Maranda Gail Mathis, 11
Alithia Haven Ramirez, 10
Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez, 10
Maite Yuleana Rodriguez, 10
Alexandria Aniyah Rubio, 10
Layla Marie Salazar, 11
Jailah Nicole Silguero, 10
Eliahna Cruz Torres, 10
Rogelio Fernandez Torres, 10
Teachers
Irma Linda Garcia, 48
Eva Mireles, 44
This work is not an attempt to sonically recreate the events that took place at Robb Elementary, nor is it my intent to make a requiem or similar musical gesture. I have a young daughter that could have easily been in a school situation like this. The event has had a profound effect on the way I see her and my personal fears for her. In this piece, I try to find whatever hope I may be able to salvage in the wake of these events. It is impossible for me to comprehend what those families have experienced knowing that the empty words they hear from others will not bring back those loved ones they have lost.
The title of the work is taken from a quote by Jazmin Cazares, who lost her younger sister Jacklyn: “i hope you didn’t feel any pain. i hope you know how loved you are. i’m so sorry I forgot to say good morning today. I love you always and forever baby sister.” 
This work is dedicated to the victims of the Uvalde, TX shooting and their families.