Starr Cummin Bright
NO BUT GIFT
“What were you doing to get shot?”
the intention, if not quote,
that I caused it,
just like a woman asks to be raped
by her clothes, her build…
NO!
I’d never spoken to or met
the man who shot me. Don’t
know why he chose that church,
what went through his head,
BUT,
even if I’d spurred him to pull
the trigger, I am still a victim,
shot in the spine, lead still there,
pain a constant for twenty-nine years,
phantom under my foot,
waves flooding up my leg,
years of PTSD dreams. Time
– GIFT –
granted me a different view,
as a survivor, lucky to be
walking again, grateful to be
alive, choosing to forgive, not
condone, wishing him the same
peace of mind I seek, working to
BREAK THE TRAUMA CYCLE
