My nightmares drown me, they choke me out,
They keep gripping me just a little too tight.
Alarms sound like lullabies, silence – like shouts,
And her face fades a little more each night.
There is a dark trench behind her dull eyes,
Her nostrils snarl and breathe like a forest.
The lips leak red, and the blood never dries,
Sinfully cursed by those who came before us.
-Jackie
Seven hundred wheels on unsolid ground.
Go ahead, make your move,
Just don’t make a sound.
Thousands of boots on unfamiliar fields.
No tears left to spill,
No future left to shield.
Don’t bite your lip, don’t you even frown.
We will take back the cities,
You won’t burn down the towns.
Seven hundred carcases of cheap metal.
You can’t take us with you,
Can’t keep pushing the pedal.
-Jackie
The roads we once took lead to paths we used to walk together,
To the moments we carried when were were lighter than feathers.
But the wind took our senses, the love took our sensibilities,
The seconds we wasted on each other turned out to be fallacies.
The seven roaring rivers in our shiny backyard drowned us out.
Now I listen as the waters are planning to take a different route.
The roads we once took lead to paths we used to walk together,
To the hour when our bodies were whole and heads – unsevered.
-Jackie
You thought my soul was made of tender flesh,
And you craved me like a cannibal.
I was rotten all along, dressed in cheap mesh,
Howling like a dying animal.
Still, you reached for me in the most violent hours,
Begged me to stay the night.
I was breaking down your silver towers,
Fighting the winds like a kite.
You put your pupils on mine and just stood there,
Not a word, not a whisper.
I was poison ivy living without a care,
But you promised me to listen.
So, you did, and I fell for your gruesome taste,
Some called it just a tragedy.
But most called my life a soulless waste
And never questioned your eulogy.
-Jackie
All the bright people lounge on their wide terraces,
All the right people disappear once the night passes.
I collect my crosses like a butcher collects knives,
And keep my throat away from those shiny hives.
But the clinking of the metal is slowly approaching,
The weight I have to carry is larger than the ocean.
The bright people play their roles as the stage shrivels,
And my life falls apart in violence and shivers.
-Jackie
The shine of our love brightens every corner of your castle.
Too bad I live in a neighborhood where the seatbelts are not fastened,
And the people spit out kings like you, my love.
You are a sweet drink I wish I never tasted,
A rock I wish I never had to throw,
And I am the dove sitting on your tower, cold and wasted.
But you spend all your riches on cars whiter than blow.
I wonder if you have said a sentence so true it hurts,
A sentence longer than a “no”.
I wonder if you have tripped up and gotten bruised by your words.
The leaves are turning yellow, poisoned by my luck.
You do not wish to hear me out, you have your swords,
Soldiers that kill, accomplices that duck,
And a fortune of kingdom times four.
The shine of your love brightens every corner of you.
I will always be just a footnote dropped on the floor.
My love, I hope the unbribable sunsets turn you blue
As I slip out of the gilded door.
-Jackie
The lines on your forehead seem superficial,
And each syllable you utter sounds like a dismissal.
There once was a future for the young and angry,
Now there is just numbness storming the pantry.
The folds of your brain feel like a grand illusion,
And your fingers on my skin add to the confusion.
Am I sinking too fast, is this river way too deep?
I would reach for the oxygen, but I fear losing sleep.
-Jackie
Maybe the bright spark is finally lost,
Maybe I can find it if I get closer.
I am drowning in this unfulfilled lust,
Trying to find my four-leaf clover.
The grass is tickling my bare feet
As I step into the moonlight all alone.
My breath is fire, unfiltered heat,
And the blackest night is my home.
-Jackie
The tiny crumbs of regret fall onto my lashes like snow,
And I can no longer hold the water back,
I must let the tears flow.
There is a red fire far behind my charcoal black irises,
But if nobody notices the damn spark,
I can trap my fears into chalices.
I make them drink, then turn their sweat into ice sculptures.
Honey, how did I go this far?
How did I become one of the vultures?
-Jackie
The fabric of the path I once knew is ripping below my bare feet,
And the loving glances we once shared are dissolving in the heat.
There is no end, just pale threads and strings slowly coming apart,
And I am afraid if I throw my last dart, I might hit you in the heart.
-Jackie
The Daily Writing of Jackie Wright 