beautiful Hand

By Allison Whittenberg

the beautiful hand of the
dead cop was the first
thing I saw
after I arrived on the ugly scene
she had graduated first in her class
first woman
to make deputy in our small town
but it's a John Henry task going
against the machine of biology
Inclusion lead her to an active shooter/
the barricade/hostage situation/
maintaining custody of a prisoner/
Outmanned – advance, can’t wait for backup
the beautiful hand
the ugly scene