The Gun Poem by Donna Pelan

Spent a couple of years at Mount St Louis
In a beautiful ski chalet
Thought clean air and country walks
Would be the order of the day

We gotourselves a beagle hound
To round out our family
I wanted the experience of owning a dog
As he would walk the trails with me

One day we were enjoying a peaceful walk
But as we strolled around a bend
My puppy was attacted by a germain shephard
And our carefree walks came to an end

Soon after that a 'for sale' sign went up
And we longed to get back to town
It seemed pointless to be so far away
When feeling so house bound

We soon found a house on a quiet street
In a fabulous neighborhood
It had a nice fenced in yard for the dog
Our decision to move just seemed so good

We wanted to teach our do not to bark
So we bought a big red water gun
And each time he tempted to make a noise
A squirt of water would cause him to run

We placed a bird feeder in our front window
It attracted birds of many a kind
There were sparrows, blue jays and chicadees
And more colorful cardinals would be hard to find

One morning as I was watching the flock
The number of birds had reached a peak
A commotion outside had gotten me up to look
There-was a cat, with one of my birds in its mouth

I grabbed my big red water gun
And chased that cat right up the street
I didn`t take time to concider my lack of clothing
Or that I had nothing on my bare feet

The cat jumped a fence with my bird in its mouth
I realized to catch it, I no longer could
At that moment it dawned on me how strange I must look
As I was the new person in the neighborhood

Here I was in the middle of the street
Thinking possibly I should run
As here I stood in Striped pyjamas
And in my hand I held a big red gun

I looked up and down to see if anyone was watching
As I slinked quietly back to my yard
Had they looked out and seen this crazy old woman
To prove my sanity might have been hard

I`ve now lived on this street for a couple of years
And better neighbors I couldn`t ask for
But I`ve often wondered if anyone saw me that day
When I asked they said -no, but I was never sure

Did I catch just a hint of a smile
Or has a raised eyebrow put me on guard
I guess I`ll never know if I was spotted
But I have relegated the water gun to the back yard