Only one civilian casualty at Gettysburg, Jennie Wade, hit by a stray bullet
that passed through her kitchen wall and killed her while she was baking bread. July 3, 1863.
Jillian Ludwig, Belmont student in Nashville, killed while jogging in early November, 2023.
Two young women, struck down
by stray bullets.
Jennie and Jillian—
innocent sisters in death.
Jennie, a young wife baking bread.
Jillian, a music major, jogging in a park.
The same bullet across time.
A stray one from an unknown soldier got Jennie.
A stray one from a sick man got Jillian.
The unknown soldier defended a cause—
was the wayward bullet pro- or anti-slavery
when it killed Jennie, bread burnt?
Already deemed unfit to own a gun,
let off by law laxity, the assailant
was shooting at a car, when
he silenced Jillian’s music forever.
Humans shoot for causes or not.
Uncaring Bullets. A terrible roulette.
Originally published in Of Rust And Glass