Now That You Are Engaged
James Croal Jackson
I refuse to believe
a word you told me. We talked home
movies by your bedside lamp
and shared a feather pillow.
Don’t talk to me about the fate
of birds when morning comes and all
I hear is silence. Then I listen a
little longer and hear your soft breathing
I know you’re faking. You don’t sleep,
I didn’t either. The absinthe on your
breath meant we lived long enough
to forget another night. How could
we forget a lesson like that?
James Croal Jackson is a Filipino-American poet who works in film production. He has three chapbooks: Count Seeds With Me (Ethel Zine & Micro-Press, 2022), Our Past Leaves (Kelsay Books, 2021), and The Frayed Edge of Memory (Writing Knights, 2017). He edits The Mantle Poetry from Pittsburgh, PA. (jamescroaljackson.com).