LA is dead man, I mean really dead.
I have never seen people so empty.
You can see it in their eyes as they
wander the aisles of the 99-cent stores
realizing that they can’t afford to live.
You can see it in their faces,
as they wait nervously at bus stops,
weary of their own inhumanity.

They have had enough.
Enough of the Crips and Bloods,
enough of Jay Leno,
enough of the stale sunshine
and government cheese.
This is not what was promised.

There is no God here,
no jobs,
or homes that they can afford.
The best part of their day is when
they sit in motionless rivers of cars
and dream.
Not of angels or actors,
but about The Big One.
They hope that it will save them,
just swallow them up.
They hope…

# # #

John Kojak is a graduate of The University of Texas who lives and writes in Sacramento, California. John’s short story “Don Pedro” was published in Beyond Imagination magazine, his short story “American Hero” appeared in Down In The Dirt magazine, and his flash fiction piece “Beauty and the Beast” was published in Third Wednesday magazine. He has also had several poems published in print magazines such as Poetry Quarterly, Dual Coast, The Stray Branch, The Literary Commune, and Donut Factory.