FEATURED WORK OF THE WEEK

Rubber straps shaped like nooses

hang from steel rods in subway trains.

Lucky for us, they’re too small

for human heads. Instead, we hang on

for balance when the train lurches

and careens around a bend.

It can be hard to keep your balance

in America where the politicians

steal us blind and line

the pockets of their friends.

Keep your eyes open.

These are the same souls

that hanged 19 women in Salem.

It turns out we are easily bewitched,

deluded by events beyond our control:

random fires, crop failures, seizures,

assassinations, terrorist attacks all demand

retribution. Someone has to pay

for our sins and when there are no witches

to be found, there are Blacks

to be hanged.

Like Blacks and Asians,

all Arabs look alike. A little shock

and awe is good for us. Troops

protect the oil and drones

are our missionaries. Meanwhile

we hang on for dear life.

You can understand our need

for opioids, guns and a savior.

Someone who promises

a return to the life we never had.

On the Train

by Edwin Meek

RABBLE REVIEW No.5

Page: 33

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Author Bio:

Ed Meek is the author of High Tide (poems) and Luck (short stories). He has been published in The Sun, The Paris Review, The North American Review. He writes book reviews for The Arts Fuse and Rivanna Review. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife Elizabeth and their dog Mookie.