Found Poem

Gang Shooting Victim Must Overcome Pain To Walk Again

10 year old girl shot 3 times
playing basketball
four days later a physical therapist tells her its time to get up
she looks around,everyone looking at her
mom,dad & nurse
A lanky 4th grader with braids
speeling bee champion & outstanding player in basketball
may take months to walk again
March 2
in compton a young man
handgun shoots her in the back,knee & hip.
two other males shot and both survived.
"she understands" dad says.
"its a long process & she understands that"
doctor puts a sock on her foot and tells her to sit up
she been laying for a long time
with the help of her parents and a single sob
Erica began to move.

Linthecum,Kate,"Gang shhoting victim must overcome pain to walk again"The Los Angeles Times, March 14,2010