by Howie Good

It was just a forest, not particularly dangerous in daylight, but after dark, a whole other thing. A patrol would roll up on a domestic violence call, and people would be having hallucinations about monsters. I heard “pop-pop-pop-pop-pop.” Birds and humans got mixed up and confused in my mind. I took my phone out and was zooming in to see if I could see anyone. I said to the girl next to me, “Is that what I think it is?” And she said, “Yep.” I said, “Aw geez.” The head was still there, but the lions had eaten most of the rest.

 

[Howie Good is the author of The Loser’s Guide to Street Fighting, winner of the 2017 Lorien Prize and forthcoming from Thoughtcrime Press, and Dangerous Acts Starring Unstable Elements, winner of the 2015 Press Americana Prize for Poetry.]

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