NEW POETRY

(photo c/o lasvegas.co.tz)

My head is an avalanche

and you are the sparrow

(sorrow) at the foot

of the bed. I’m sorry

for bringing the casino

to work & developing

that further. Slots slots

slots slots slots. If

your heart’s a roulette

may I have another

spin? Another evening

aiming a slingshot

into green glass bottles

on my sister’s balanced

head. No one said

this was a good idea,

but I keep clinking

coins into slots

beneath heavy

constellations

of lights. I

declare the world

my next-of-kin.

James Croal Jackson is a Filipino-American poet who works in film production. His latest chapbooks are Count Seeds With Me (Ethel Zine & Micro-Press, 2022) and Our Past Leaves (Kelsay Books, 2021). Recent poems are in Stirring, Vilas Avenue, and *82 Review. He edits The Mantle Poetry from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (jamescroaljackson.com)

This is his fourth appearance at Fast Pop Lit, with another poem soon to come.