The Gun Safe wouldn't Open - Oct. 11, 2023

for many people the word “gun”

is a gruesome noun to speak

the touch of a bullet foreign

the weapon’s weight astonishing

and they are right to assume

these are vicious animals

kept in prisons and cages

for their remorseless cruelty

I do dream of using it

in shifting scenarios

always a figure

approaching in the dark

trigger pulled a bloody scream

the madness of the moment

if ever lived would inflict a memory

to play over and over

with a change of batteries

and push of four buttons

the safe pops open to the black

beast asleep in its padded cell

all set for another night

another choice

another chance

to redefine

“carnage”