Say Cheese

by Ryan Quinn Flanagan

Some guy was stabbed in Queens
last night
trying to aid a woman
being attacked by a mugger
and as he lay dying on the sidewalk
his fellow citizens walked by
for more than an hour;
even the woman he had aided
ran off
and neglected to call
the cops.

A few onlookers rolled the dying man over
to see if he had a wallet
and one pedestrian stopped to snap
a picture
on his camera
phone.

An hour and 45 minutes later
paramedics arrived on the scene,
but it was too late.

Now,
that’s one less guy
you’ll have to stand behind
in the buffet line.

There are never enough plates
anyways.