Riotous

Howie Good is the author of more than a dozen poetry collections, including most recently The Death Row Shuffle (Finishing Line Press), The Trouble with Being Born (Ethel Micro Press), and Gunmetal Sky (Thirty West Publishing). "Riotous" is in Short Circuit #05, Short Édition's quarterly review.

A police vanhas beenoverturnedand the Burger Kingon the corneris burning,and if youabsorbthe oily blacksmoke,willfullybreathe it in,your heartmuscleswill seize upand your familydesert you,you'll foreverbe marked downin the bookas an arsonist,a looter,a so-called"outside agitator,"who made,for a while,this murderingold worldto tremble.

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