For days I felt the restaurant’s quietness
conveying terror.
The viral video of a man’s mouth
sucking slowly on sashimi—
returning each piece with solemnity
to the communal conveyer belt—
inspired copycats to film themselves
doing equally filthy acts.
This wave of sushi terrorism compelled us
to install surveillance cameras.
Pushback was inevitable,
customers citing their right to privacy, but
as far as I was concerned
everyone was a suspected saboteur.
What wills a person to suck the edamame
destined for another?
I can’t escape
the terror of this thought…
The terror of this thought haunts me
like the image of my yellowing tongue
licking the yakitori.