Even

Photo by Eren Özdemir

The colors are never dark enough when you paint me

Or when you smear my character on the city streets.

Even jesters have to sit through the stillest of pain,

Even seasoned killers do not kill right where they eat.

-Jackie

Cheap, Cheap Man

Photo by Михаил Шнейдер

You robbed me of my peace

Like grave robbers steal jewels,

Then sold them for cheap

Just to afford disgusting beer.

You took every penny

That you could ever carry

Like my name was worthless

And I couldn’t get it all back.

You abused my trust

Because you are a cage maker.

Preying on the victims,

Playing morals like cards.

I hope my silence blinds you,

I hope it stings your bones.

You are a cheap, cheap man

Sitting on a shit-stained throne.

-Jackie

Dancing On Your Grave

Photo by Ahmed akacha

One day The Cure records won’t remind me of your bruises

Or the glaring violence you masked as some faultless flaws.

I get teary-eyed thinking about getting back my music

And cleaning out the infected thoughts and putrid scars.

-Jackie

Up My Sleeve

Photo by Betül Balcı

The cards I keep up my sleeve are the four aces,

But being a natural could not save my honest face.

Here I lay, here I lie, here I suffer from exhaustion.

Every fairytale warrants a sheer level of caution.

-Jackie

The Two Men

Photo by Kenneth Surillo

I wished on a dying star,

Hoped that I could go number.

I exchanged their loves

Liked fading telephone numbers.

The first one was a goner,

The second one was a farce.

They burned me like a witch,

They resurrected my scars.

It was the fairest of games,

And rules did not matter.

The rabbit jumped from a cliff

And so did the Mad Hatter.

I wished on a dying star,

Hoped that I could go number.

I exchanged their loves

Liked fading telephone numbers.

-Jackie

On The Ceiling

Photo by Pedro Dias

Carnivorous snakes feed on my red temptation,

And my neck breaks in places I cannot patch up.

The diamonds are fake, yet they cause suffocation.

Greed will seal my fate if I choose to look up.

-Jackie

Infidelity

Photo by Matheus Natan

Those steep cliffs will send you right over the edge,

Those tall buildings will shake you right off the ledge.

One more step, one more scene, one more indiscretion,

And I will pack up the answers and leave the questions.

These wild roses will bite you with their thorns,

These new roads will make you regret you were born.

One more word, one more tear, one more midnight affair,

And I will take back the promise to keep it fair.

-Jackie

Your Ghost Stories

Photo by Darya Sannikova

The lines I drew in the sand are starting to erase my limbs.

I hold onto the frame, but it feels like dancing on a rim.

The moments I shared with you keep rewriting themselves,

And I wonder whether the ghost stories will fade

If I just ask for help.

-Jackie

Star-crossed

Photo by Skyler Ewing

Tiny claws scrape my knees with surgeon’s precision,

They leave marks I am too scared to show my friends.

I cannot hold down time, I cannot make the decision.

These black and blue nights have only violet ends.

-Jackie

The Mark

Photo by Darya Sannikova

My name is spelled out in the backyard,

And it’s burning in purple flames.

The grass is turning into poisonous gasses,

And I shrivel up in pale shame.

-Jackie