Barrel Of A Gun Poem by gershon hepner

Staring down the barrel of a gun
your faith won’t save your life, and if you pray
you’re wasting precious time. You ought to run,
and even if you’ve words you wish to say,
forget about them. They’ll be written on
your face, and everyone will be aware
of them already. You had best be gone,
and cut out all the son et lumière.

Inspired by lyrics to a song that my French-Canadian-Australian friend Mark Leuchter wrote before he irreversibly damaged his cochlea by listening to dangerously amplified rock music.

Faith is something empty when you're staring down a gun
Or looking in the mirror at the damage that you've done
And there's no point in praying when there's no saving grace
And there's nothing left worth saying
When it's written on your face.