Thursday, April 2, 2020

day ONE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED and SEVENTY


Lions And Lambs

a photo shows the lamb
lying on its side, skinned
in the butcher shop window
the raw meat
dark pink and red
white of sinews and bone

the head’s still attached
a lidless black eye stares too wide
above the sign advertising its life
for 4.99 a pound

a creepy image, to be sure,
but I think people should look...
maybe even be forced to look—
into the eyes of a creature
they’re about to devour
for 4.99 a pound...

or 9 bucks an hour...
10, 7.25, whatever

but our lions so rarely
meet their lambs
they roar their dictates
from behind iron gates
on high and faraway hills

from behind a shield of laws
twisted to fit the shape
of their cannibal hearts

--Brian Rihlmann





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