A Story About A Gun Poem by Paul Warren

In New York they opened a gun store
Where you could go and buy a gun
But the difference here was every gun
Had a history of causing death
Suicidal, accidental and criminally intentional

And many of those who went into the store
Changed their minds about gun ownership
You see the possession of a gun
Increases your likelihood of
Suicide, murder or accidental death
By this weapon in a family or place

It reminded me of a true South Australian story
About a young boy who one Sunday morning
Took his father's loaded gun
And accidentally shot his brother dead in their bedroom

You see the father felt the need to have the gun
Loaded in the house
And a baseball bat at the front door
The young boy denied it but the gun powder test
Proved his was the one with it on his hands

The post script to the story was
The young boy was too young to be charged
But fifteen years later he hung himself
The note left said he couldn't live
With what he'd done when he was nine.

© Paul Warren Poetry