I am bullet.
I am lead and copper, brass and nickel, powder and primer.
I am chemistry, metallurgy and physics.
Load me into a chamber, and I will fire when struck by a firing pin, no matter who pulls the trigger, and no matter where I am aimed.
Once I am fired, you cannot recall me, or redirect me. I will freeze your decision, right or wrong, in the very fragment of time it takes for you to pull that trigger, with no way for you to undo it.
No prayer, no regret, no bribe can alter my path.
I can pierce air, paper, drywall, wood, and flesh.
I can take everything away from a person: their thoughts, memories, hopes, fears, and dreams. I can take everything they were, everything they are, and everything they’re going to be.
I can take a life, for whatever reason: good or bad, right or wrong, intentional or accidental.
I am a piece of metal, mindless and inert. I have no morals, no intentions, no desires, and no ethics. I take on all those values from you when you launch me out of that barrel.
Do not pull that trigger lightly, because you are responsible for the path I take, the target I hit, and the damage I inflict.
Pull the trigger with respect, with resolve, with trepidation, or even with dread if you must–but you must never pull that trigger lightly.
Thought provoking. Deep, actually. Truer words have never been penned. Glad you’re back!
…hear you roar.
That’s not a bullet that’s a cartridge!
I like it.
[...] I am bullet [...]
Whoa…
Good one!
Personification at its best.
Marko, glad to see you back from your hiatus, but this, wow!
“I am bullet” ranks right up there with “Why the Gun is Civilization”.
Thank you again for your great writing, glad you’re back, we’ve missed you.
Rick
Welcome back.
Just a great post.
that’s what i come here for, mw: the flow from freethought to keyboard that which most of us have pondered in the abstract…
which of those shiny new projectiles might transcend shallow discussions of caliber, weight, velocity, and penetration…and in the blink of an eye change, end, and/or save a life, or two, or many…?
a lovely, introspective, and thought-provoking post…and art, actually, in its truest form…good job, marko…and worthy of saving to the best-essays collection.
jtc
You’re already a successful writer, old man. The commercial bit will come when it will – but you’re already moving hearts and minds with your powerful, evocative, reasoned and truthful words. The rest is gravy, but in the name of Chaos and Mercy you’ll have that gravy with your biscuits. You’re just too powerful a literative force to fail in this.
You humble me, really. To read something like this is to realise how unformed I truly am.
I have been reading all your posts and essays about guns & enjoyed all of them. Your writing is wonderfully written – I wish I was able to defend carrying a gun as well as you have. I am never that eloquent or well spoken, I tend to border on sarcasm. I plan on linking to your site and visiting often to read more.
Thank you for sharing.
Just stumbled onto your blog today while researching the Browning High Power. Some how I was sent to your article about the EB Special Forces 1911.
I spent some time reading your writings from 2007 to now.
Great blog, man!
I’ll be back.
…not only accurate in terms of describing responsible gun ownership and use, but, speaking in my capacity as a humble prof, written in good meter and with a sensitive knowledge of enjambment. Come on, admit it, you were an English major weren’t you?
Good writing. Keep it up.
No, I was an Elementary Education major, actually.
Thanks for the kind words.