Featured Poet - Jackie Chou
RED LEAVES
Red leaves fall like sliced-up hearts
Bloodying the rain-wet sidewalk
Against the cold my crossed-arm guards
To the base sparrows I give my regards
At my lone figure they appear to gawk
Red leaves fall like sliced-up hearts
Life deals me many unfortunate cards
Of my failures the wind seems to talk
Against the cold my crossed-arm guards
Pursuing stardom in obscure arts
At my ideas the mainstreamers balk
Red leaves fall like sliced-up hearts
Hanging around a group of bards
My mere ink on paper I try to hawk
Against the cold my crossed-arm guards
For these rough streets I lack the smarts
So back to the care home I walk
Red leaves fall like sliced-up hearts
Against the cold my crossed-arm guards
THE TORMENTING VOICES
I try walking away
from your serpentine voice,
snaking its way into my core,
but walking away isn't enough.
I envision an endless sidewalk,
miles and miles of concrete road,
stretching out like chewing gum,
and still,
I would not be far enough from you,
from the torments
that you make me feel.
Your words cling to me,
like a cloak I cannot shed,
no matter where I go
on this futile journey,
where all I want to do
is to run and run,
until you're no longer with me.
CHRISTMAS SONG
Christmas arrives without any cheer
The hours of an ill-spent day linger
Like rain clouds my eyes fill with tears
No sleigh bells from Santa do I hear
Nor the harmonic voices of carol singers
Christmas arrives without any cheer
Alone I am with the snow globe deer
So close to the real thing this ringer
Like rain clouds my eyes fill with tears
I think of days when we clinked our beers
Saccharine drinks made with ginger
Christmas arrives without any cheer
With shrill laughter my enemies jeer
Of my suffering they are the bringers
Like rain clouds my eyes fill with tears
My heart pulsates with fear
Of plans laid down by God's fingers
Christmas arrives without any cheer
Like rain clouds my eyes fill with tears
ON THE BAKERY PATIO
The pigeons stop by only for the crumbs
Pecking at a fallen cake by my feet
The ground speckled with blackened gums
No one is out at this time but the bums
This lounge chair my permanent seat
The pigeons stop by only for the crumbs
Dreaming day and night with no qualms
I've become a fixture on the street
The ground speckled with blackened gums
To this solitude I've become numb
There's nobody I'm here to meet
The pigeons stop by only for the crumbs
Some look at me as if I am dumb
Walking everywhere in the cold and heat
The ground speckled with blackened gums
The feasting birds seem anything but glum
Though they cannot taste the sweet
The pigeons stop by only for the crumbs
The ground speckled with blackened gums
ABOUT JACKIE
Jackie is a poet with schizoaffective disorder. Her work is inspired by her difficult mental health issues. Her two collections of poetry, Finding My Heart in Love and
Loss, and The Sorceress are published by cyberwit.