Living Among Cannibals
A Poem by Lance Le Grys
the proportion of cannibals now living among us
as demonstrated in the most recent census
has surpassed fifty percent
that is to say
cannibals are no longer living among us
we are living among them
I considered joining one of the demonstrations
against cannibalism
to take a stand
make my voice heard
not against cannibals against cannibalism
hate the sin love the sinner
but then I was made aware
of well documented reports from several prominent research institutes
demonstrating
the almost complete integration of cannibalism
in the greater economy
a demonstration difficult to ignore
you can’t buy a stick of gum or a car battery without
at some stage along the supply chain
ingesting
at least implicitly
some small cut of human flesh
diluted in a weak broth
turnout in any case was pitifully small
and largely made up of people of a sort one
would not wish to be identified with
instead I went to a cafe
to order the special
liver of an alcoholic
having always had a weakness
for pickled meats
Lance Le Grys is the author of the poetry collection Views from an Outbuilding (Clare Songbirds Publishing House, 2019) and the chapbook Pilate Suite (Bottlecap Press).. His work has appeared in many publications, including America, Caveat Lector, The Naugatuck River Review, The Lullwater Review, The West Trade Review, Knock, and The Southern Humanities Review. A selection of his songwriting indiscretions can be heard at legrys.bandcamp.com. His web site is at lancelegrys.wordpress.com. He lives in Castleton, Vermont
