If I Am Killed in a Mass Shooting
       

I could have been anywhere
I was there I am a daughter of
this country I hot rolled my hair

my high school history teacher
was a football coach we never got past
the Civil War the boys had gun racks

in their trucks the deer they hunted hung upside down
dripped blood that formed a pool we shredded their
flesh it made good barbeque

there is a feeling you are being watched
you glance over your shoulder
you light a candle in a vigil

I am a ghost
we are ghosts glancing backwards looking for
men with guns

know that I wrote this not to call it in but as
a way to ward it off
a lucky charm

people cry people cover people with blankets
flowers cover the sidewalks like
blankets the flowers fade to dust

do with me whatever you want
America I am yours

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Copyright © 2022 Kimberly O'Connor All rights reserved
from White Lung
Saturnalia Books
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission