Shoot 'Em Ups

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In the old west
the shoot em up takes place in town—
in the old saloon, the brothel
or the boardwalk outside the barbershop.

These days, it can be anywhere,
the church,
the synagogue,
shopping mall,
post office,
your office building,
a college dorm,
classrooms, the library or on the road.
Not with a Colt 45
but an AK 47 blazing at so many rounds a second,
the shooter—your husband or the boyfriend you dumped,
the neighbor whose lawn was soiled by your dog.
Then there's the guy who killed his five children
because he was mad at his wife.
Or when the quiet fellow you pass every day
shot up the kids in the schoolyard
with an arsenal picked up at the local gun show,
everyone said what people always say in such cases,
that he kept to himself and was so polite
you'd never imagine...