Jennifer Langston

Bullet

One bullet left 9 fresh new holes
Scattered on my torso.
Less than the holes in the drop ceiling
That became my star lit sky
While I begged not to die.
I asked him to hold my hand after,
After he held me hostage
After I covered my head with the
Thick comforter I knew was too thin to stop
His trigger...Finger.
They don't send the ambulance folk in till
The men with more guns clear the scene
Where I still lie Begging not to die as
The drop ceiling turns to clouds and
My flesh burns
My ears ring
and
My eyes can never stop seeing
That flash...
That flash of my life
In his trigger...Finger
Hugging his metallic penis
As he decides my fate
But the stars align and the Angels...
The Angels clip my wings to save my soul
Leaving a scar under each shoulder blade
Where I hope to sprout new wings
To help carry this story,
Carry this life into and out of
Phoenix rising.
Cause a bullet couldn't stop this
No, a bullet couldn't stop this woman.
A bullet didn't steal my breath, though it tried
The bullet took fragments of me
The bullet left fragments in me, but
The bullet is not going to fragment my dreams!

Bio

I am a 2 time Survivor of gun violence, BIPOC from Portland, OR.

Gardening and art bring me joy. Gun violence is escalating everyday in my community, and bullets don’t discriminate only spew hate no one is safe from.

The man who shot me is being released from prison and I now enter a prison of isolation to keep safe for I fear the 3rd time I am threatened with a gun I will not survive.