Guest Poet 14 – Scott Devon - Out of the earth

I grew a gun, once, out of the earth and watered it with Galilee,

saw the salt stick to its silver petaled barrel, alone in the earth

as the chamber filled itself with twelve blank bullets, aimed upon the world.

My home was on high, made from Oak my father grew, idyllic view but

in winter the rain fell too warm upon my world, it worried me so

I grew a gun, once, out of the earth and watered it with Galilee.

The rain like leeches addicted to dry would come, naked I’d run in

panic to shelter the trigger, check the safety, keep the powder dry,

as the chamber filled itself with twelve blank bullets, aimed upon the world.

It spoke in whispers to me through the earth and air, said it was ready

to die, told me it was afraid but it had faith in its creator,

I grew a gun, once, out of the earth and watered it with Galilee.

Arm’s length I held it as it died and felt nothing except pure purpose,

the last words in me, the last wish burning the air, how heavy he grew

as the chamber filled itself with twelve blank bullets, aimed upon the world.

Each round I sent down the barrel towards the light, saw the pearly smoke

deafened, knew at once it was my fault because I did not plant a lamb,

I grew a gun, once, out of the earth and watered it with Galilee

as the chamber filled itself with twelve blank bullets, aimed upon the world.

(Scott Devon is a British born poet, with an MA in Creative Writing from MMU. He is the former head of neo:writers, a department of neo:artists CIC, and the organiser of the neo:anthology Project 2013, which has published writers such as multiple Pushcart prize nominee Howie Good, and Faber poet George Szirtes, http://www.neoartists.co.uk/blog/. Scott's work explores the duality of nature and man, attempting to uncover and understand the ambivalence which lies within us all. His work has been published widely across Europe and America, but most recently by the Origami Poetry project, Stepaway Magazine, Epicentre Magazine, Egg poetry, Bareback, Diastixo.gr, Staxtes.com, Chicago Literati, Matchbox Poems and Starburst Magazine. His poem ‘Belief’ was independently selected to be translated and read on National Greek radio, and he was selected to write in conjunction with the Royal Philharmonic Society in July 2013. His two micro-chapbooks ‘Tightrope’ (2012) and ‘The Book of Doubt’ (2014) are both published by Origami Press.

More of his work can be found at:

http://www.origamipoems.com/poets/131-scott-devon