xxHow bad to

be the one in

xxthe center, the

 

one aflutter in billows

xxof fabric and

bellows from the gut

 

xxas the blood

runnels toward the gutter

 xxand bits of

 

skull litter the ground

 xxlike the cracked

halves of a ruddy

 

xxnut. No, how

much better to be

xxthe one standing

 

cool and unsullied on

 xxthe curb, dressed

in respectable drabs, busily

 

xxnot getting caught.

How much better it

xxis than being

 

in the center to

xxbe the one

who fired the shot.

 

***

Stephen Kampa is the author of three collections of poetry: Cracks in the Invisible (2011), Bachelor Pad (2014), and Articulate as Rain (2018). His work was included in Best American Poetry 2018. He teaches at Flagler College in Saint Augustine, FL.