A PERFECT SLING

by Diana Morley

A 13-year-old Michigan boy who used a slingshot to save his 8-year-old sister from an attempted kidnapping said he was “freaking out” and simply reached for something that could stop the attack. “So I grab my slingshot and open the window and I grab two things—a marble and a gravel rock or something,” Police said Owen struck the 17-year-old assailant in the head and chest, and his sister was able to get away. —AP, May 19, 2023

No semi-automatic rifle

but a simple slingshot 

grabbed by a young teen

saved his younger sister

being abducted. A sturdy 

wooden Y the why of her 

escape—of stopping 

the large target wounded 

by a rock and a marble. 

The boy a marvel today  

who instead of grabbing 

his cell phone for a photo

‘freaked out’ at seeing evil. 

A girl’s scream, a window,  

a thirteen-year-old boy with 

a slingshot, rock and marble. 

A biblical story played out

in Michigan—unusual—

but sure did tip the scales

for we the people at a loss

for words over sick shooters

still protected by politics. 

Diana Morley has published poems online and in journals as well as two books of poetry and a photographic/poetic documentary of Oregon’s 2020 wildfire and renewal. She writes and resides in North Carolina. 

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