The gunman in the mind

Every argument
Every hate
Is a new link to the chain
That we make

We sit in fear
Amongst the rocks

Our strong backs crushed
By nightmares

Every stolen trinket
In our Magpie like beaks

Every nest of stolen feelings

Every pearl of wisdom
That we smash to smithereens

Is a new link to the chain
That we make for ourselves

I have one forming now
In my stressed and tight stomach
I can feel it curling into shape
I can hear it click into place

How does it feel to be
out in the firing range of life
do you cut down the trees
to make the target easier?

do you aim your gun at the cardboard cut-out?
how do you feel when they start to bleed from their wounds?

there’s a gunman in the mind
ready to kill
who sees his neighbours as little game birds

and every one that gets shot
is another link in the chain
that we build for ourselves