An Epidemic, They Say

Where I live the press says
teen use of heroin is epidemic.
I thought an epidemic

was a widespread disease
afflicting thousands caught in
the wrong place at the right time

as might happen when mosquitoes
bring in the zika virus and inject
as many people as they can.

There’s a difference in the two.
Unlike victims of the zika virus,
teens inject heroin themselves.

Donal Mahoney, nominated for Best of the Net and Pushcart prizes, Donal Mahoney has had poetry and fiction published in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Some of his work can be found by clicking here…