Author: Chris Crittenden
Location: Maine

Chris Crittenden earned a Ph.D. in ethics, specializing in ecofeminism. Unable to find work, he turned to poetry to express his anguish at a brutal world. Recently he was interviewed on Poets Café, a radio show of KPFK Los Angeles. Some titles of recently accepted poems are "Soldier Turns Atheist," "Karma of a Vet," "After a Battle," and "Fugitives From the Urban."

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Weapon Possessed

bitten by his rifle,
the trigger a sting
swelling into his finger,

he can't retreat, only shoot,
wherever he goes they
tell him to shoot,

and his gun agrees,
poisons his kindness,
owns him like a scorpion
that whips across culture,

between the eyes.

he can't accept
this werewolf life
of murder and being a scared father,

of serving peace but cradling
a metal demon-baby instead–

knowing it wants
to jump into fights,
to kick angry in his arms,

get hot, snarl, rage.

and when it's done vomiting death
it goes back to its coffin
in a locker,

below the picture of his wife
and child.

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