Omnipotence by James Croal Jackson

Your laugh could knock civilization out

but you are too modest.

 

I spent time at the cafeteria alone

at school. Red trays quivered.

 

On film sets I can’t look up.

How tight is the lighting rig?

 

When I apply that logic

to our place in the universe–

 

it’s too cold a stone to live alone.

When your soundwaves reach me,

 

in my solace, from the moon

or Mars or Mars, Pennsylvania,

 

I want my life to begin again

and I want you there

 

the whole time.

About the Poet:

James Croal Jackson works in film production. His most recent chapbooks are Count Seeds With Me (Ethel Zine & Micro-Press, 2022) and Our Past Leaves (Kelsay Books, 2021). Recent poems are in Stirring, SAND, and Vilas Avenue. He edits The Mantle Poetry from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (jamescroaljackson.com)