Poetry by Jill C. Jones

     liebeslakritze CC




Always
For Casey who had 33 years
---

I dug in the dirt today
Thinking of Casey
Raking furiously
Til my hands blistered
Red and raw
Like a broken heart.

Then I walked in the park where
The oak trees reach sanctified branches
toward the sky--

A cluster of children playing 
Throw and catch volleyball –
little control over closed fists
or open palms--
Cheered each other on
Even when they missed.

This life, the smell of leaves,
Always only a gift
And always fleeting--

Life is always too short
And always unfair
And so –I savor a moment of joy
And dedicate it:
Hoping that the rumor of angels is true
But knowing absolutely
That I am never fully here
But for love,
And you are never truly gone--

​


Jill C. Jones is a professor at a small liberal arts college, has published on subjects including sin and Jerry Springer, and has a chapter forthcoming on the American con woman. Favorite poets include Langston Hughes, Dylan Thomas, and Mary Oliver. And always, Emily Dickinson.