THE SANDWICH MAKER

by Pamela Kenley-Meschino

“It’s rare to see a government so eager to prove its critics right in real time. But here we are, watching the Trump administration fire a Justice Department employee, slap him with a felony, and publicly humiliate him—for the crime of calling them “fascists.” That the accusation came seconds before he allegedly threw a sandwich at a Customs and Border Protection agent is almost beside the point. The symbolism is too perfect: in today’s Washington, labeling the regime “fascist” is more scandalous than acting like one...” Nick Anderson, Pen Strokes, August 14, 2025

It probably wasn’t vegan.
Hopefully, it had some heft.
Not like a baton or a stick
or the base of a flagpole,
the smell of onion sneaking
through waxed paper,
maybe a dollop of mayo leaking
out in flight made contact with a thud
of audacity, outrage. Why are you here?!
Why the f—k are you here?!
The sandwich maker who cut the bread,
arranged condiments, while the man (felon?)
waited by the counter, had no idea.
Maybe he felt the weight of anger,
spread yellow mustard thick,
added extra pepper,
a wedge of heavy cheddar,
imagined his throwing arm gathering
a day’s worth of ham and cheese
he could sail over the heads of invaders
to reach those starving children
on the other side of insanity.

Pamela Kenley-Meschino is originally from the UK, where she developed a love of nature, poetry, and music, thanks in part to the influence of her Irish mother. She is an educator whose classes explore the connection between writing and healing and the importance of shared stories.

AT LARGE

by Ana Garza G'z

Someone threw a gallon of urine in the lobby of the Fresno Housing Authority office on the Fulton Mall on Thursday morning, the Fresno Fire Department said. The office, in the 1300 block of the mall, was evacuated briefly while the Fire Department investigated the incident, which happened about 10 a.m. A man described by a witness as "homeless" tossed the container, which then broke, spilling the fluid, a Fire Department spokesman said. There were no injuries and workers returned to the building. The suspect is at large. --The Fresno Bee, Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/01/17/3137073/container-of-urine-thrown-in-fresno.html#storylink=cpy

No pride--just  a glass door, a desk,
a story, an application.
Weeks later, you’re denied
By a scowl when you check in.

You wonder what it takes
to fill a gallon with piss?
Well, first, you need a gallon.
You think you can get milk,

but for that, you need four dollars.
You also need a fridge.
to keep it in, a house,
gas and power service,

and a forty-hour job
that pays at least minimum
so you can try for Food Stamps
and low-income housing.

You have to wait on both,
despite the questions (“where do you live?”)
despite the weather (January),
despite the work you did

in that other life.
God forbid,
the people  who spend four dollars
on a cup of coffee spend

a little extra here
and there. They’ll never miss
a cent. You panhandle for
a morning to buy the milk.

You drink it in a day.
You get the massive shits.
You don’t care. You aim,
and you gather every drip,

every single drip. You take
your time. With dehydration,
it takes five days. You sit
at public computers, filling in

boxes. And then you walk
back to the glass doors and the desk
with nothing for the jobless,
but advice: those who seek find success.

You stand there, under a roof
you can’t have, and you give in
to the impulse to show them
your work, a gallon, which you spill.


Ana Garza G'z has an M. F. A. from California State University, Fresno. Forty-one of her poems have appeared in various journals and anthologies, most recently in The Mom Egg. She works as a community interpreter and translator.