The cab driver asked me
If I’d ever seen a city burn
Wait ‘til summer, he said
Sun’s out guns out, he said
You weren’t around in the 70s
You haven’t seen
What I’ve seen
L.A.
Chicago
New York
On the T.V.
He counted
28 palm trees
On fire
On the T.V.
A cop in a blue helmet
Hit an old woman
One time
With a baseball bat
In New York, he said
Where I’m from, he said
You couldn’t see for the smoke
Couldn’t hear for the sirens
Any one could be coming for you
I caught his eyes
In the rearview mirror
They were brown
And old
And by then
I knew his father was dying
And his sister never finished college
But she hadn’t let that
Get in her way
I told him
If this city’s gonna burn
I’ll be holding
The torch
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Zoe Young is a writer and journalist living in San Francisco. In May of 2017, she completed her writing MFA at California College of the Arts. Before her MFA, Zoe chose the word of the day for Dictionary.com, wrote live jazz reviews for Downbeat Magazine as the California state correspondent, acted as contributing dramaturge for the California Shakespeare Theater, and scripted plays for production at Berkeley Rep through playground SF (she still does that). Zoe is the founder and a proud member of the Finishing School Writer’s Workshop.
Photo of a February ICE protest in San Francisco by Peg Hunter.
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