Nor Be Afraid

I treasure all the bullets in my chest,
Each little one a precious child to me.
Our time together speeds relentlessly
Towards a lonely ending, all our zest
Dissolving in a moment's passage, stressed,
Impaired by reference to poetry
Instead of truth. An idiot could see
I'm desperate, dysfunctional, depressed.

The bleeding won't impress you, if you're smart.
My attitude is: nothing to forgive,
Not even when my skin is like a sieve
And there are bullets lodged inside my heart.
These are my children. We shall never part,
Nor be afraid, as long as I shall live.