An Etymology

Through the door comes the gunman,
emerging from the night.
The light that glints from the barrel
hints that some other steel might soon emerge.

From moment to moment the world
flows through states,
through endless, invisible
configurations. But once in a while

The state of the world is revealed
in these unwelcome epiphanies,
these unwanted understandings,
when reality peeks through probability's veil.

The fact of the matter emerges.
(It cannot be contained.)
A gunman coming through the door.
Emergence, emergency.