Cleave poem by Phuoc-Tan Diep

_________________________Steak and red wine

_______________The sirens whine-flames flash
_____and lights slice through smoke-heavy with the smell of steak
shrouding bodies littering the ground-charred at the edges.
__The policeman stalks a straight line-I swallow, I gulp
_____________________I wobble,-expensive
______________booze on my breath-red wine
______________and guilt in my guts-trying to conceal burnt meat.