James Croal Jackson
I arrived a grown child, thinking
this the place where everyone was
a star or– at least– a surfer.
I am neither. Every year
I look back and say my god! I’ve stayed
the same. For example: four billion years ago
I was a molecule in primordial soup,
spinning and swirling. Four billion years later,
I am a clerk at a convenience store, stocking lube and smiling.
Now? I am on the couch watching BoJack Horseman,
eating canned tuna and wondering if I am him.
Or– wait. I am in my car, stuck in traffic, honking
at a red light. Hell, I am driving a lemon,
barefoot in smog. This may be
a dream, but I feel cheated these days,
even if the sun shines– and it does– too brightly.
James Croal Jackson is a Filipino-American poet in film production. His latest chapbooks are A God You Believed In (Pinhole Poetry, 2023) and Count Seeds With Me (Ethel Zine & Micro-Press, 2022). Recent poems are in The Garlic Press, Remington Review, and ONE ART. He edits The Mantle Poetry from Nashville, Tennessee. (jamescroaljackson.com)