had a reading that night

by James Croal Jackson

spent the whole day down-

town at the library writing

poems in the procrastination

of destiny the flood through 

the window watching birds 

worms and cars inside the frame-

work of a city I could outgrow 

the orange construction 

cones everywhere outpace 

outspend every quick-

witted rodent that sneaks

from my brain to feed

my endless hunger

James Croal Jackson is a Filipino-American poet who works in film production. His latest chapbooks are A God You Believed In (Pinhole Poetry, 2023) and Count Seeds With Me (Ethel Zine & Micro-Press, 2022). Recent poems are in Hello America, Little Patuxent Review, and Ballast Poetry Journal. He edits The Mantle Poetry from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (jamescroaljackson.com)