Contributor: Ben Nardolilli

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Of course you think every situation
Is suspicious and everyone around you
Is a suspect for an upcoming crime
That has yet to use you to break the law.

You are too beautiful, too rich, too good
To be left alone by the masses
That teem with criminal thoughts
And sinful impulses bred in alleyways.

A car stops and parks by the sidewalk,
You expect to be kidnapped
Or at least harassed in some way,
But it drives away and you find no incident.

A man bumps into you and your neck
Tenses up in great expectation
For a seizure of hair, then a wallet,
And then a body after the money is gone.

A child laughs at you and runs away,
She turns a corner and you walk around
Hoping an ambush has been set up,
But no guns or daggers greet you there.


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Ben Nardolilli currently lives in Arlington, Virginia. His work has appeared in Perigee Magazine, Red Fez, Danse Macabre, The 22 Magazine, Quail Bell Magazine, Elimae, fwriction, THEMA, Pear Noir, The Minetta Review, and Yes Poetry. He has a chapbook Common Symptoms of an Enduring Chill Explained, from Folded Word Press. He blogs at mirrorsponge.blogspot.com and is looking to publish his first novel.