Marquez has straddled numerous state lines. He loves being in multiple places at once. Enjoys feeling scattered. Though, lately, he is restless and feeling … whole. So here he is at the famous intersection of Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico, lying on the cold granite of the Four Corners Monument, spread out like a six-foot “X.” And he stays here while the tourists walk past, hissing at him for ruining their photos. At midday, a Navajo Ranger prods him with a boot and threatens citation. When a hawk relieves itself on Marquez’ splayed body, even then he refuses to converge.
Lannie Stabile (she/her), a queer Detroiter, is the winner of OutWrite’s 2020 Chapbook Competition in Poetry and a back-to-back semifinalist for the Button Poetry Chapbook Contest. Lannie was also named a 2020 Best of the Net finalist. Her debut poetry full-length, Good Morning to Everyone Except Men Who Name Their Dogs Zeus, was published in 2021 by Cephalopress. Her fiction debut, Something Dead in Everything, is out now with ELJ Editions. Find her on Twitter @LannieStabile.