Mercer St.
the sound of traffic
and karaoke
on Mercer St.
is persistent
crashing against
the walls of my windows
like waves, or the tide
every morning
at 5am
the number 8 bus idles
at 10pm
the singers chant
don’t stop belivin’
then, at 2am
the fights begin
vomit in my courtyard
in the planter boxes
the constrictions
of their stomach
lull me to sleep
or the stand your ground chants
moans of ribs breaking
and bullets fly
mornings of making small conversations
with the beautiful neighborhood
beat officer
about whether my car
had been hit
when all i wanted
was her billy club
to my heart
By Fairness Peck
Biography
Fairness Peck, a poet living in Seattle WA, was a literature and poetry major at Western Washington University, received a master’s degree in communications from the University of Washington, and he has worked as a content strategist in the greater Seattle area for several years. Writing poetry for almost two decades his focus has been on local spoken word communities.