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# Shrapnel
- URL: https://www.merionwest.com/shrapnel/
- Published: 2026-09-26T16:55:36.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-26T17:29:54.000Z
- Description: Chris Bullard
- Author: MW Editors
- Tags: Poetry, Arts

> Infants present too small

> a target to be hit,

> but anyone reaching adulthood

> is riddled with disquiet

> 

> as troubles zip

> through your soul

> like charged particles

> in a cloud chamber.

> 

> You won’t see tiny

> stigmata marking the flesh.

> but the spirit flags

> under their bombardment.

> 

> Isolated hearts shatter

> from that barrage,

> blasted like beer bottles

> settled on a rail fence.

> 

> Love might do

> as a lead shield

> but most find it too much

> of a burden to carry for long.

### [Chris Bullard](https://chrisbullardpoetry.com/?ref=merionwest.com), a native of Jacksonville, Florida, has published twelve books of poetry. He lives in Philadelphia, where he is currently in hospice care for lung disease.