& Still the News
Half the day at the same
spotty window, glass dotted
with dog slobber & prints
of distant fingers & hands
Backstory & counterpunch
& how did the body
come to be in the river?
These succulents grow fat
in their pots of dry dirt
by the spotty window
full of sun — far off
voices parse the law
& muster what thrills
they’ve heard tell of
Half the day, the same
but for the far-off fingers
left to feel for
moisture in the pot
Back-punch & counter-story
& how did we come
to the river at last?
MACKIE GARRETT appears here and there, to this one and that one. He’s known to haunt the strange streets of Iowa City in the company of family, friends, and other weird cats. His poems have appeared in IODINE POETRY JOURNAL, BIG MUDDY, BLUE COLLAR REVIEW, THE FOURTH RIVER, and PLAINSONGS. In addition to writing, he enjoys playing music, taking photographs, and printing poetry broadsides, ‘zines, and books at the Iowa City Press Cooperative, where he is editor and founder of 508 Press. Instagram.