Armed Neighbor
       

I don't want to deny him the right to turn
His homestead into a fortress better prepared
For a siege than the Alamo. But I do wish
I could persuade him no columns of federal marshals
Are preparing to march from town to convert his property
Into a dark-site prison or a welfare hotel
For a mob of migrants too lazy
To make a homestead on their own.

I do wish I could persuade him he's lucky
That we live in an era where foot-thick walls
And narrow slits for windows have gone the way
Of the moat and drawbridge, an era when many neighbors,
Instead of hardening their perimeters,
Are blurring the boundaries between inside and outside
With elaborate decks and porches.

If safety is his concern, I'd like to convince him
He'd be better off investing in burglar alarms
And in cameras programmed to keep a record
Of all the cars that park near his property,
So if two outlaws wait till he leaves for work
To break in and steal his gun collection
He could give the police all the clues they needed
To solve the case in less than a day.

As for the pistol he's been taking to work for years
In a holster that isn't hidden, I don't accuse him
Of trying to mask with a symbol of power
A deep-seated feeling of insignificance.

I believe what he claims, that he hopes to save
Some fell ow workers one day from a maniac
Running amok with a gun on the factory floor.

But I wish I could convince him it's just as likely
That one day a maniac will snatch at his gun
As he walks alone after work to his car,
That the gun will go off in the struggle
And the bullet, if it doesn't undo him,
May undo a child who happens that very moment
To be riding by on a bicycle.

No doubt if I persuade him to leave his gun
At home, at least for a trial period,
On his usual foot patrol after supper
Around the neighborhood, he'll feel stymied,
Unable to protect a neighbor from menace
Should any edge near as night comes on.
But I'll assure him he may still be able
To offer assistance in emergencies.

Say he spots a glow in the sky
And follows it to a house in flames.
A gun would only get in the way
Of his dashing in to wake any sleepers
And carry a child out to a neighbor's lawn.

And if the parents carry the children
While he's left with a hamster cage or a fish bowl,
I'd like him to feel the task isn't beneath him.
Lending a hand, I'd tell him, is always dignified,
While being a hero is incidental.

Tweet
Copyright © 2020 Carl Dennis All rights reserved
from New Letters
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission