Starr Cummin Bright

NO BUT GIFT

“What were you doing to get shot?”
the intention, if not quote,
that I caused it,
just like a woman asks to be raped
by her clothes, her build…

NO!

I’d never spoken to or met
the man who shot me. Don’t
know why he chose that church,
what went through his head,

BUT,

even if I’d spurred him to pull
the trigger, I am still a victim,
shot in the spine, lead still there,
pain a constant for twenty-nine years,
phantom under my foot,
waves flooding up my leg,
years of PTSD dreams. Time

– GIFT –

granted me a different view,
as a survivor, lucky to be
walking again, grateful to be
alive, choosing to forgive, not
condone, wishing him the same
peace of mind I seek, working to

BREAK THE TRAUMA CYCLE

Bio

I am a former veterinarian, a wife, a mother of three, a gun shot survivor, and now the legislative lead for an 870 member gun violence prevention group in PA. I find joy in my family and friends, in my community, and with animals, my own and wild ones. Right now, when many of us are isolated from our family and friends and community, what is making us vulnerable is the surge in gun sales and untraceable ghost guns. At this time of heightened tension, guns don’t help anyone stay safe; they only dramatically increase the risk of injury and death.