By Mitchell Nobis
In the blazing sunrise,
the plastic bag in the
intersection of Metro
and Detroit ascended
like a roadkill dove,
a flimsy phoenix
snapping loose from
the tar and concrete
and staring at us
until the cars died,
until we said okay,
until we walked
into the dust-covered
canine teeth of our
ignored tomorrow.
the plastic bag in the
intersection of Metro
and Detroit ascended
like a roadkill dove,
a flimsy phoenix
snapping loose from
the tar and concrete
and staring at us
until the cars died,
until we said okay,
until we walked
into the dust-covered
canine teeth of our
ignored tomorrow.
Mitchell Nobis is a writer and K–12 public school teacher in Metro Detroit, where he lives with his family and dog. He is the author of The Size of the Horizon, or, I Explained Everything to the Trees (Match Factory Editions 2025). He facilitates the Teachers as Poets group for the National Writing Project, hosts the Wednesday Night Sessions reading series for KickstART Farmington, and co-founded the Not at AWP (NAWP) reading series. For more, see mitchnobis.com or find him falling apart on a basketball court.
