Trigger Warning

by Flavian Mark Lupinetti / October 27th, 2024

Never before has my hospital seen
such dismembered torsos and pulverized brains,
results of a shooting with an AR-15.
The speed of a bullet from an AR-15
creates cavitation through muscles and veins.
A shot to the shoulder can rupture the spleen.
All of our doctors and nurses convene,
yet it’s futile to treat what are really remains,
these gobbets of protoplasm rendered obscene.
It distresses us we cannot follow routine–
bring a halt to the hemorrhage, alleviate pains–
but to rush to the OR dishonest. I mean,
there’s nothing to save after seeing this scene.
Kids of a country where the gun owner reigns,
doomed never forever to reach age thirteen.
Of the lethalmost species of killing machine–
bazookas, gas, napalm, presidential campaigns–
accessorized with a 55-round magazine,
nothing compares to the AR-15.

Flavian Mark Lupinetti, a poet, fiction writer, and cardiac surgeon, received his MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts.  His poems and stories have appeared in Bellevue Literary Review, Cutthroat, december, Redivider, and ZYZZYVA.  Mark’s chapbook “The Pronunciation Part” will be published by The Poetry Box in 2025.  Mark lives in New Mexico. Read other articles by Flavian Mark.

This article was posted on Sunday, October 27th, 2024 at 8:00am and is filed under Poetry.