When I think that x-rays
shoot through the body
to illuminate our insides
without ripping
some organ bloody
or cracking bone
I wish to translate
that transit experience
to the bullets
that sometimes fly
down our streets
and leave holes in our walls
or ceiling.
I thought my
personal history
of psych-ward attendance
might help me disbelieve
the rupture of my skin
and the red spray
from shattered capillaries
connecting the network
of arteries and veins
within my displaced
muscle tissues
as one of Newton’s
laws of motion
carries me the direction
of the splatter.
Gravity applies its authority
to my spinning body
and the blow to my head
when it hits the floor
is not measured in calibers
or millimeters
but leaves me seeing double
the number of holes in my wall
and the sunshine
entering the house
illuminating the floating dust
above the carpet.
copyright © 2021 Kenneth P. Gurney
Umflop 