Michael J. Henry
Gun Ties His Shoes
Gun is tying his shoes and it's more difficult
than he remembers and maybe that's the Benedryl
Gun took because of allergies or maybe the music
blaring in Gun's earbuds which is making him feel
a little underwater though Gun is a good swimmer
even took lifesaving classes and CPR and first aid.
Gun finds this ironic because his doctor says his
heart muscle is bad is thick has to work so hard
of course it has to work hard though not harder
than anyone else's probably. Gun thinks he's no
martyr though he's dealt with some serious shit.
Anyway Gun gets his shoelaces done up and is
walking down the bustling street on this fine day
and stops to listen to some hard-hats say rude sentences
to some women walking by across the street when
the world gets all bright and fuzzy all sound warps
into a buzz and Gun is drowning in it. He wonders
Am I done? Though he doesn't feel close to death
and his heart is still cranking away and he wants
the buzz to stop so he can learn some new catcalls.
About Michael J. Henry
Michael Henry is co-founder and Executive Director of Lighthouse Writers Workshop an independent literary arts center in Denver. His poetry and nonfiction have appeared in places such as Georgetown Review, Threepenny Review, Pleiades, and The Writer, and he’s the author of two books of poetry, No Stranger Than My Own and Active Gods.