Missed - Carla Barger

 

The sun shot your belt buckle

Like a BB pellet pinging

Old man Peters’ shed down the way

You called to the dogs

Get it! Get that damn rabbit!

My hands were shackled in shakes

The barrel against my chest

Heavy as a tractor engine

And you roared just as loud

Pull the damn trigger!

So I did

The bullet skimmed

The banks of the weed-choked creek

And nothing else.

You walked away.

You’re still walking.

 

Carla Barger holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her poetry has appeared in several literary journals as well as two photography books titled Objet d'Art and Metal. She has also written for gallery catalogs and other art-related publications. She currently works as a freelance writer and editor in Chicago.

carlabarger.wordpress.com carlabarger@gmail.com