The Last Gun is a poetic cycle in the voice of the last gun in existence. He is a hold-out, discovered when he goes off accidentally. A policeman arrests him and takes him to jail, where he awaits trial. In solitary confinement, gun has an opportunity to contemplate who he was in life and how he will meet his end. An excerpt from the cycle won the COG Poetry Award and was subsequently animated at Cogswell College. The animation can be seen at the online magazine: www.cogzine.com/watch.
They thought I might be smart,
one of the ones they'd missed
when they originally boycotted
and kept the smart ones out of stores.
Well, I'm not smart,
but I'm not stupid either—
really I'm not, in spite of that fracas
in the kid's garage.
If I'd been smart, I mean like genius,
it never would've happened
and he'd be around today
to go hunting with his dad.
By Anne Harding Woodworth
From The Last Gun (Cervena Barva Press)