Luiza Flynn-Goodlett is the author of the chapbook Congress of Mud (Finishing Line Press). Her work can be found in Granta, Indiana Review, Redivider, DIAGRAM, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. She serves as poetry editor for Foglifter Press and lives in sunny Oakland, California.
DOWNSTATE
As tides lap another kidnapping victim
ashore, a rag's drawn down a throat,
teargas canisters arc into the crowd.
Canines blunted by fire, no instinct
insists we tackle weakness, rip out
its throat. But we spark like flint
when struck, step from humanity's
warm huddle, blood on our teeth.