Self-Portrait in bullet hole
by Christopher McCarthy


off, laughed,
talked of guns

and amusements—to escape
the burden of internal history

a bicycle leaning
up against the wall

the violent death
of no relation

the faintest fire
dark, blue, & then.

The shot
seemed to end

to decide the question
what happens when it rains

there is a hole in the ceiling
open to the sky.

That is not a hole but an oculus.






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