Jessica M. Wilson is a Poet from Los Angeles, CA. She holds her Master of Fine Arts in Writing from Otis College,
and a BA in both Creative Writing and Art History from UC Riverside. She is the founder of the Los Angles Poet Society, Writers’ Row: Downtown LA’s Official Written Art Showcase, and SoapBox Poets which is a collaborative group of artists delivering their work to masses.
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In Memoriam
For all the dying soldiers out there;
dying to greet their mothers’ eyes, starving bellies filled with madness.
or lost,
shoveling under asphalt bridges, cellophane blankets, and street-side lullabies –
How a bottle of Jack Daniels can transform into love for Uncle Sam,
so cleverly pale,
with each suckle from the red, white, and womb –
an honest day’s fingers make sense to salute without ridicule,
for that gourmet liquor, they tighten the squeeze.
To my comrades who swallow so many years’ worth of penalties
to pay first-born sacrifices at the altar,
a tax too hefty to squint at –
palms held in thin air fade from isolation;
more left to soldier the streets of the nighttime lullaby.
The good remedy; more glistening liquor
to spray onto a plaque thanking you for your service,
duty not left without fortunes
for you take it all without question.
Bills are discarded with an “I’ll pay you later” smile.
We become circumcised when we hyper about the returns;
a car, a home, a toilet plunger with $2 rebate
praise the system
and let them take it away in a moment’s time.
Soft rewards under thin air
when the scoundrel breaks and chips off a crescent of a dollar –
and we become rich again.
An extensive life-long policy to sign up without question
as time is made yours again.
Service repeats.