________ ________ ________
2022-04-26 / \/ \/ / \
/ __/ /_ _/
When I was young / _/ / /
Barely into my teens \_______/_\___/____/\___/____/_
A weapon exploded in my hands / \/ \/ / \
I thought at the time I knew what I was / _/ /_ _/
doing /- / _/ /
I sat a safe distance away \________/\________/\___/____/
The low sun draping a long shadow across
my shoulders
My breath steady but my heart racing
That same sun bathing her in gold
So perfect in that moment
Wreathed in honey warm light
I wrapped my hand over the muzzle of my weapon
And, pulling the trigger, the barrel exploded
And I was unconscious
For weeks or days, years
A lifetime
Torn by weapon fragments as they spun past me
Out of the shadow and into the light
I caught one in my heart
Which quickly scarred over
Puckered and ugly
But beneath the surface
A pearl I'll carry with me forever
