Schoolyard Rules
I think it was fifth grade
when the school bully
found a wallet on the ground
during recess and decided
he’d keep it
but one of the teachers
discovered what was going on
and took it from him
saying, No…no…
this doesn’t belong to you
we have to return it
to its rightful owner
he didn’t like that
not one bit
he grabbed at the wallet
as she held it aloft
and a crowd gathered
surrounding her
the next thing I remember was her
screaming as she was shoved
into a fence over and over
by this mob
of pint-sized savages
while I watched
from an outer circle
stunned
paralyzed
and later
we were pulled out of class
one by one
into the hallway
and interrogated
about what we’d seen
and asked who was involved
in this terrible thing
I can’t remember
exactly
what I said…
but I already knew
well enough
to say I hadn’t really
seen
what I had
seen
or else
Brian Rihlmann lives in Reno, Nevada. His work has appeared in many magazines, including Chiron Review, The Main Street Rag, The American Journal Of Poetry, and New York Quarterly. He has authored three collections of poetry, most recently “A Screaming Place,” (2021) by Cajun Mutt Press.
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