On The Table Is A Gun, by Leo McBride

There have been a few news stories that have weighed on my mind in recent times. This piece was written in the wake of the 2016 Pulse shooting in Orlando. And then I left it untouched, because I wasn't sure this was my place to say anything. And yet, the news stories of shootings keep coming, and the spillover affects the country I live in too. So I publish this, On The Table Is A Gun, because it feels like I should.

On The Table Is A Gun

By Leo McBride

Two people sit in a room called America.

On the table is a gun.

“That’s my gun,” says one,

“You need a gun to defend yourself.”

“I don’t need a gun,” says one,

“if you don’t have one on the table.”

On the table is a gun.

“Pick up that gun,” says one,

“so you can protect yourself from me.”

“What if you take my gun?” says one,

“Then I gave you the gun to hurt me.”

On the table is a gun.

“I own that gun,” says one,

“because everyone else has one.”

“I don’t have a gun,” says one,

“and I’d feel safer if no one else did.”

On the table is a gun.

“Control who buys the guns,” says one,

“and stop the criminals from having one.”

“I stole that gun,” says one,

“How are you going to stop me?”

On the table is a gun.

“If we both had guns,” says one,

“then we’d both be equal.”

“If neither of us had guns,” says one,

“then we’d both be equal.”

On the table is a gun.

“You need to plan your escape,” says one,

“because I have a gun.”

“I wouldn’t need to escape,” says one,

“if you didn’t have a gun.”

Two people sit in a room called America.

Outside, everyone waits to see.

On the table is a gun.