The Gorko Gazette

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6.24.2026 7:00 AM

Equal Parts by Michael Igoe

Equal Parts

I try to map the course of an evening beforehand. I hope to later gain control over its content and theme. This is a matter of limitations and a deftness by degree.

But no predictions are forthcoming in the wake of a dark clouded morning. But usually, I can tell what it will take to ease the pain.

In dogged pursuit of the meaning of right and wrong, I remain bareheaded and sullen. I tell myself it’s all relative. This way I justify the mutual urges I share with the neighbors.

We are a captive audience for the annual parade of the town’s flesh colored millionaires. Not settling for less, we agreed to continue, with a hesitant love affair.

Hardened stems dig through black leather that covers both sets of hips.

From the porch in the backyard I take a look outside at the husband and wife going over yesterday’s events next to their clothesline. Both of them were blessed, or maybe cursed, with the face of a Rhesus Monkey. Tan khaki trousers and flotal blouses hang out to dry.

I am the onlooker with no sense of trespass.

I keep track of their movements. They stick to a strict schedule like a metronome keeps perfect time. They’re younger than I am, but I don’t know how much. They never make a hubbub or any serious commotion, no more than the rustling branches of trees overhead.

A train of thought is an unwelcome presence, an uninvited guest intent on more harm than good.

On our street, I wield a great deal of authority. I leverage several blue buildings hunched over from their embankments. I kill time of all kinds, by the kilowatt hour and the Roman numeral clock.

I can’t manage a decent meal unless I eat like a draft animal. But by the time late afternoon rolls around, I generally consume enough strong drink to relax to the depths of my bones.

I foresee the day when I can raise flowers deep in my aging skeleton.

About the artist

Michael Igoe, city boy, neurodiverse, Chicago now Boston. Works appear in journals and anthologies available at amazon.com, lulu.com, barnesandnoble.com. National Library of Poetry Editor’s Choice Award 1997. Best of the Net nomination 2003.