How often...

why I don't own guns

How often…

 

Mr. Loughrey of Sharpsville

Inside his pickup truck.

9 mm handgun “went off,”

Bullet flying through

    Son Craig’s chest

He died instantly.

 

…I often wonder…

 

My roommate awoke me,

    Distraught,

One night. His sister

Had been shot.

    She and Her best friend

Found a handgun.

It “went off.”

She’s lucky to be alive.

 

…do people use…

 

As a child, I

Awoke one night

From Tarzan dreams to hear--

Pop, pop, pop.

More dreams followed.

Morning,

My mother was

    Distraught;

Police cars in

Our cul-de-sac.

The pianist next door

Shot three times

    By his wife

With a handgun.

        Their young daughter

Saw it all.

 

…a handgun to kill…

 

Took my cat

To the emergency vet,

He’d fallen in the garage,

Cut his head on a saw blade.

While waiting,

A man rushed in,

    Distraught,

Carrying his dog, a furry mess.

Cleaning his handgun,

It “went off,” the bullet hitting

    His best friend, full-on.

What a bloody night!

 

…the Bogeyman?