America is
a sea
of fake smoke
bombs, calmer
than a magician
getting frisked by police.
America
is a sunburnt
tongue.
A jungle
in the trunk
of a limo.
A tumbler
full of dew.
Benjamin Niespodziany is a Chicago-based writer whose work has appeared in Indiana Review, Fence, Booth, Conduit, Bennington Review, and elsewhere. His writing has been featured in the Wigleaf Top 50 and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best Microfiction, and Best of the Net. The host of a bi-monthly reading series known as Neon Night Mic, he also recently launched his own indie press known as Piżama Press.