“Self Defensive” by Karen Miller


woke up one day scared
here I am: old lady
end of a dirt road
don’t know karate
kitchen knives are dull
neighbor is deaf
cat is a coward

said to my husband
I want a gun

Bought a small black pistol
went to the range
shot my gun until I
hit the target
pretty well, call it a cluster
peppering the red circle
I call it a cluster

put the gun in my sock drawer.
if necessary
the cat knows where to find it.


Karen Miller is a 76 year old retired lawyer living on Lake Champlain in Vermont with her cranky but lovable husband and Izzy the cat. In the summer she gardens and swims. In the winter she looks out the window.