LONG BEACH by James Jackson

from a high rooftop after rain,

headlights lead their drivers

to safety in a grid of electricity;

slick, mighty towers surround

and glisten from orange streetlights;

the harbor, an unending cascade

of dreams painted

in reflected, rippling stars–

 

you can hear, from outside the metro,

a shrieking man in an aureolin raincoat,

several hurried severities of shoes

clopping on sidewalks

 

still I will tell you the city is beautiful

when far enough away to never see

imperfection

 

and I’ll hold you close,

hands clasping your ears,

our own static to block

distractions which, for the beauty

of this moment, do not matter–

 

James Croal Jackson’s poetry has appeared in The Bitter Oleander, Rust+Moth, Whale Road, and other publications. He grew up in Akron, Ohio, spent a few years in Los Angeles, traveled the country in his Ford Fiesta, and now lives in Columbus, Ohio, USA. Find more at jimjakk.com.