Rumors of Wars by Desire’ Jackson-Crosby
In my mind, my dad was a soldier who traveled miles to end up where he went. I forgive him every time I remember a little face, rounded cheeks, and a gap between the two front teeth. I want to forgive 2002 but I cannot locate where I left my yellow jacket or lose the prickly feeling of his face when he’d pick me up and hug me.
Where is the cheat code that brings back the thing my brain promised to forget? My memory is shot and in tiny pieces on the pavement outside the pet store. All I seem to remember is
crying over some silly thing
and
telling
mom
it was
because
I missed you.
“I had tried submitting it to a couple places some time ago, but that didn’t pan out. As I kept revisiting it, I began to feel nervous at how personal it is. How if it were published, the person this poem involves would read it. Now, because of those feelings and because someone else out there might read it and connect with it, I want to pull it from the trash and give it a home.”
Desire’ Jackson-Crosby (she/her) is a writer living in Central Massachusetts, USA on Algonquian land. She is the founder and editor-in-chief of Through Lines Magazine. You can follow Desire’ and/or the magazine here: @throughlinesmag on Twitter @desire_jackcros on Twitter