Don’t make fun of the boy with a gun.
He hangs about the bazaar every day,
rescuing abused American Girl dolls,
that he takes home for target practice.
Sometimes he whispers secret verses
into their cold hard ears.
At school he is afforded a respectful distance.
He once wrote an essay about painkillers.
He’s not allowed in gym because of loafers.
In his dreams he’s always riding horses.
Even now he sleeps, at peace,
beneath a Snoopy quilt.