January Gill O'Neil

DRIVING THROUGH MISSISSIPPI AFTER THE CAPITOL HILL RIOT

January 9, 2021

And when that country dog blocked the car
snarling, put his body in front of the front tire,
it stopped us from passing on an otherwise
quiet afternoon: the winter grass a pale yellow,
new brick houses threading through
a two-lane road on our way someplace else.
That dog—maybe a Feist or Red Heeler—
coat of dark amber, rust dog, all bark all bite, unchained
perhaps for the first time today, would not be moved.

America, haven’t we been here before? Standing our ground
in failing light, our breaths held, not knowing what will happen next,
the texture of this moment turning so hard so fast,
that dog flushed with adrenaline and a loud echoing bark,
teeth clenched toward whatever comes down the road.

JANUARY GILL O’NEIL is an associate professor at Salem State University, and the author of three books from CavanKerry Press: Rewilding (2018), Misery Islands (2014), and Underlife (2009). She is the former John and Renée Grisham Writer in Residence at the University of Mississippi, Oxford. She lives with her two children in Beverly, Massachusetts.