The BOCA All American Classic
Veggie Burger is made with reduced-fat
cheddar cheese and has 55%
less fat than an 80% lean/
20% fat cooked ground beef patty.
I smother it in hot British mustard,
ketchup, veganaisse, tomato, kimchee.
I cannot celebrate this holiday
without being a dick about it. Fuck
the 4th of July yo! texts Bitsui.
But hey got the kids wanna go bowling?
I close my eyes to savor the liquid
smoke; to better see the fake-char grill marks.
Fireworks? My neighbor’s Chevy belching smoke.

Justin Bigos is author of a book of poems, Mad River (Gold Wake, 2017). His writing has appeared in publications such as New England Review,Ploughshares, The Rumpus, The Seattle Review, McSweeney’s Quarterly, and The Best American Short Stories 2015. He coedits the literary magazine Waxwing and has recently joined the faculty of the MFA Program in Writing & Publishing at the Vermont College of Fine Arts.