Plymouth Magazine-Summer26-DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 13
New York, New Creation
By Luke Stringer
The oligarchs’ yachts grow fat reefs from fifty feet under,
and the highrises house those they should’ve from the jump.
When you jump off a bridge, it’s because the city comptroller pivoted
into advanced bungee cord technique. You bounce back, screaming with laughter.
Every third Sunday, the gardens, both hydroponic and terrestrial,
stay open late. All kids and former kids eat the produce for free.
In the autumn, an orchard’s weight in apples drops between the freeway medians,
apple boughs bumping fists with American chestnuts, blight-free at the hands
of some green-thumbed angel, suntanned and sweaty,
who said, “I can work with this,” and did.
The bones of the neighborhoods razed in mid-century
stitch back together: the brick-bones, the bone-bones.
Resurrection has a postal code, an area code, an address.
Every bus route will take you there. Whatever you think the toll is, it’s less.
Luke Scott Stringer (he/him) is a writer, poet, and artist from
Oologah, OK. He currently lives in Des Moines, IA, where he serves
as Associate Pastor at Plymouth Congregational Church through
Plymouth's Transition into Ministry pastoral residency program. You
can follow him on Instagram @stringer_things and see more of his
work at lukescottstringer.com.
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