What Kind Of Boy? Poem by Gerald Hanners

What kind of boy would he have been without the gun?
Holding it gave him courage, made him feel like a man.
Using it gave him a sense of power,
that only cowards could understand.
....................

So they too grip their weapons, as only cowards will.
Shaking, trembling with fear- -
unable to explain their anxiety and why
they're afraid of everything far and near.

Guns! Guns! Guns, they shout!
Any threat to our guns makes us very annoyed!
We need guns! We need MORE guns!
Be scared! Be afraid! We're paranoid with fear!

Most of these 'gun nuts'
have never served a day in the military.
But, they dress in camouflage, hugging their muzzles and stocks
and brooding in the dark about their fears, in solitary.
....................

What kind of boy would he have been without the gun?
Lonely? Troubled? Problematic? Perhaps, just a harmless fool?
We will never know, will we? You see, he had the gun!
And, he took it to that school!