Demain est une moignon livide
—Joyce Mansour
some worthy victim must
be offered up
to mollify the mob
throbbing in concert
private lusts subsumed
in collective outrage
like rivulets joining forces
to flood to drown to crush
the rush is contagious
and feeds on acts of violence
a carnivorous carnival
an unamusement park
with tin-pot gods set out
to catch the blood