Ben Newell

Somalia

Not even 10 minutes ago
I signed for my neighbor’s package,
a rather suspicious-looking package 
shipped all the way from some distant land.  

Somalia?  

Beats me;
the writing on the label 
is far too poor to decipher. 

In retrospect
this wasn’t a wise move on my part.

I shouldn’t have heeded the knocking 
on his door across the landing,
shouldn’t have emerged from my lair
to play Mr. Helpful Fellow Tenant…

“I’ll see that he gets this,”
I said to the mail carrier. 

And I will—

The sooner I part with this thing, 
the better.  

For all I know 
I’m currently in possession of cocaine,
ecstasy, anthrax, explosives, child pornography
or even a snuff film. 

Don’t get me wrong.

He seems like a nice enough guy.  

Quiet, keeps to himself. 

But that’s pretty much what
the neighbors said about Dahmer, 
after the cops found a head
in his refrigerator.

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