Two by Ross Vassilev

humanity is a bitch

to survive in America
you gotta tiptoe
among nightshades
of nuclear war

dance round
mushroom clouds
of serial killers

escape from
the hangman’s noose
of poverty and the
chopping block of
the prison system.

when I was young
I wanted to save
humanity (like you’re
supposed to, I guess)

now I’m 32
and I just say

fuck it.

#

free medical advice

working the
graveyard shift
at the factory.

there was
a big blonde
about 19

the problem was
her face was
all covered in zits.

I wanted to tell
her there’s
a cure for that

but that got me
fired from one
job already

and I was out of
unemployment
benefits.

I admired her ass
for a while
then clocked in.

it’s people like me
who keep the
economy going.