The hell is wide open,
It has nothing to hide.
Give me a hand,
Pull me to the other side.
The holes we dig
And the bodies we bury
Are just interruptions,
Spittle on the cherry.
So, drag me, darling,
Do not let go.
Do not mind my fits
Or the red vertigo.
The hell is wide open,
It calls our name.
If we are worthy,
They will put us in frames.
-Jackie
Their conversations gurgle like iron cauldrons,
Words shoot from love languages to crystals.
They treat my smirking lips like a mad warden,
They know that my tongue fires like a pistol.
But I let the sentences float on the surface
As long as they do not cut open the skin.
The calm in their voices still makes me nervous,
And I try my best not to let the stress win.
I nod and I listen while the speeches roar loudly,
I do not even dare to lower my spacey gaze.
If I question the words, will they all doubt me?
Will they push me away or be amazed?
-Jackie
Pardon my glaring insecurities.
Forgive me for the words I speak
When you catch me talking in my sleep.
I beg you to pardon me,
My bad temper and jealousy.
I failed you when I crossed that sea.
Sorry for the fading romance.
I swear I just wanted a rosy chance,
But your spite killed me in a single glance.
I apologize for the lightning,
For running instead of fighting.
For convincing you I wasn’t hiding.
Pardon my teethless rage,
My seething sighs when I turn the page.
I should’ve never trapped you in that cage.
-Jackie
The early spring sparks we once held in our palms,
They are slowly dying on the old veranda.
I barter with devils, I read holy psalms,
And I hope these tears are just propaganda.
Is our love crumbling or is it our hearts?
My beloved, please do not look the truth in the eye.
Where there once was a mirror, there are only shards,
And I swear that I never told you a lie.
But the air around us tastes like broken trust.
I wish we could go back to the spring flowers.
I lost my head between red wine and lust.
Now I watch you leave through rain showers.
-Jackie
The trains pass underneath my heavy feet
As I stand on the bridge in the summer heat.
I’ve stood here for months, observing the seasons,
Listening to strangers and their endless reasons.
They pass me, they stop, they never leave.
I wish I had a single moment to breathe.
But the trains keep flying by like the time,
And I only have this bridge, so I call it mine.
Soft conversations slip by my pale ears,
The kind that only a cursed ghost hears.
Yet, it’s never silent, and I find it sweet,
Even when the snow is louder than the streets.
The wheels keep singing their endless songs.
I stand on my tiptoes, righting my wrongs.
The trains pass underneath my heavy feet,
And I’m stuck between death and simple defeat.
-Jackie
My body transcends through time and matter,
I morph into creatures no one can imagine.
Every new form feels more broken and scattered,
But I cannot stop.
My ego’s too fragile.
Bones turn to mush and warm skin hardens.
Suddenly I fear that my pain will find me.
If I quit it now, will my soul be pardoned?
Will my crucifixion be brutal and timely?
-Jackie
I lie because everyone around me is smiling
And I must smile too.
Imitations upon imitations arguing over timing,
But I’m here too.
I’m smiling too.
Why do they believe me when I do?
Do I seem like an impressionable fool?
I get headaches when my face forgets how to be true
And my pupils use irises as their pools.
I pretend because the others seem happy
And I must have joy too.
One day the web of lies will trap me.
It will trap you too.
-Jackie
Time bares its teeth,
Growling from the trees,
But I do not slow down,
I do not bandage my heels.
The seconds trickle,
Lose their value like nickels.
I don’t have much,
Just a dozen nibbles.
The hunger grows,
My starving pride growls.
Three hours to midnight,
Then I’ll lose the crowds.
I run on empty
In this city of plenty.
Can you sense the fury?
I would leave if you let me.
-Jackie
Honey, save me a seat at the oval table
And keep all those mouths taped for me.
Erase my thoughts through melting cables,
Laugh, but don’t let the public see.
We live like ravenous beasts on Sundays,
Then bow to the gods as the sun implodes.
Time feels like pins and needles on weekdays.
In our heads, we balance the seven globes.
Honey, keep me awake as the moon dances,
Pray while I sleep the greed away.
Do you think this town would give us a chance?
Honey, we are sacred, yet we kill prey.
We cut bare necks like some cut losses,
We crawl through streets on severed limbs.
No matter who our path crosses,
They fear us like they fear cruel kings.
-Jackie
My tepid flesh is failing me,
My bones turn dry and frail.
I reached for visionary peaks,
Now I have a tiger by the tail.
My body took a hundred beatings,
It got used to my betrayals.
Will it survive another week?
Will it return me to the cradle?
I know I must stop the race,
Burn the finish line to dust.
My lungs will give up air
If I keep mixing love and lust.
Is there hope for the restless?
Do I deserve a gram of peace?
My tired thoughts pull the lever
As I fall to my knees.
-Jackie
The Daily Writing of Jackie Wright 