All posts tagged: Iowa City

What the Midwest Was Like

By JENNIFER S. CHENG

Small plants grow outside the window of a house. The window frame is white, with paint that is peeling slightly.

 

Iowa City, Iowa

 

For months I cared for my plant: watered it, brought in light, cleaned its jar. I noted with pleasure when new leaves began to sprout. The capillary green that unfolded overnight. I watched its roots mingle and spread, tracing against the glass. Don’t forget to watch over the plant. But when I returned from four days away, half of the leaves had yellowed. One fell off at my touch. I watched as a fifth leaf began also to lose its pigment.

What the Midwest Was Like
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Birds of Iowa City

By ANNA NORTH

 

I killed a bird in Iowa City. It was lying, dying, on the concrete steps that led to my apartment, a basement lair whose drains sometimes backed up and belched black ooze everywhere. The bird was gasping and twitching and its eyes were shut very tight. It was a titmouse. I stepped over it and went inside.

I tried to work, but I kept thinking about the bird. I decided to call my mom, who lived far away, and ask for her advice.

Birds of Iowa City
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