The Very Last Time I Shot a Gun<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t recall whose idea it was the two of us
\nswishing through knee-high clover while
\ngrasshoppers launched in frenzied flight as if they
\nknew our purpose before we did.<\/p>\n
The gun lead-heavy in my hands and BBs rattling
\nin my Skittle box and his short legs churning
\nbehind me while I watch for poison oak and gopher
\nholes and the silken weave of milk snakes big
\nas submarines.<\/p>\n
We reach the water\u2019s edge misty-still where our
\nquarry basks in memories of a lust-filled
\nnight drunk on the endless possibilities
\nof a pond beneath the stars.<\/p>\n
They slip into mud between the reeds but
\nwe wait for their unblinking eyes to
\nsurface then shoot and shoot and shoot until
\nall bubbles stop rising and the first belly
\nfloats up a creamy pillow of unexpired air.<\/p>\n
Later with windows open we listen to mayflies
\nbounce against the screen and the belly-growl of
\nfar-off thunder and father popping the top off
\nyet another Bud my while brother whispers
\nI can\u2019t hear them and he\u2019s right<\/p>\n
the baritone call for love is gone and that
\naching note of silence is
\nemptiness defined.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Stephen Wallenfels<\/a> launched his writing career with a short story about a lucky chicken’s foot in National Racquetball Magazine in 1985. That developed into ten years of publishing over 100 feature articles, columns and humorous essays for fitness trade journals. During that time he continued to develop his fiction skills and published several short stories for kids and adults. In 2012 he published his debut novel, POD,<\/a> with Ace, the SciFi imprint of Penguin USA. While writing fiction receives the bulk of his attention, Stephen’s first love of the written word was, (and still is) poetry. He looks forward to courting that relationship again. He lives in Richland.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Very Last Time I Shot a Gun I don\u2019t recall whose idea it was the two of us swishing through knee-high clover while grasshoppers launched in frenzied flight as if they knew our purpose before we did. The … Continue reading