Two POEMS
Jennifer Ruth Jackson
After the Blast
Our village melted like Dali's clock. Whiskers
spread like gasoline in halls where family
portraits hung. The Grand Canyon vacation
(hot as Satan's armpit) singed from a relentless,
nuclear sun. We walked through childhood
bedrooms with lit matches and swore the smoke
was from sweating candles smelling of faint
confectioner's delights. Strawberry Shortcake
posters blistered above our beds. We could
see phoenix light rebirthing our pasts from living
room windows where nothing living looked back.
Reminiscences of You In Fruit
Since you've gone
I’ve had raspberry nights
Tart gut-punches sweet
On bumpy paths
Rot hints
I shutter my eyes
Orange-slice shaped shafts of
Blueberry light drift
I dream I feed you
Chocolate strawberries
By the Mississippi
And find out if you still
Taste like mango
Before I shove you in it
Our village melted like Dali's clock. Whiskers
spread like gasoline in halls where family
portraits hung. The Grand Canyon vacation
(hot as Satan's armpit) singed from a relentless,
nuclear sun. We walked through childhood
bedrooms with lit matches and swore the smoke
was from sweating candles smelling of faint
confectioner's delights. Strawberry Shortcake
posters blistered above our beds. We could
see phoenix light rebirthing our pasts from living
room windows where nothing living looked back.
Reminiscences of You In Fruit
Since you've gone
I’ve had raspberry nights
Tart gut-punches sweet
On bumpy paths
Rot hints
I shutter my eyes
Orange-slice shaped shafts of
Blueberry light drift
I dream I feed you
Chocolate strawberries
By the Mississippi
And find out if you still
Taste like mango
Before I shove you in it
Jennifer Ruth Jackson is a poet and fictionist with cerebral palsy. Her work has appeared in Strange Horizons, Vinyl Poetry and Prose, Algebra of Owls, Apex Magazine, and more. Domestic Bodies, her literary poetry collection, came out in 2023 from Querencia Press. When she isn't writing (or engaging in activism), you can find her crafting a variety of things or playing video games with her husband. Follow her on Bluesky or Instagram: @jenruthjackson.