Poetry by Sarah Jane Justice

     Emma K Alexandra CC




detained

being with him was like
arresting a sovereign citizen

he levied every disagreement
under stubborn-worded references to ancient texts
dredged words from the logs of our history
to mangle out of meaning

requests for mercy or reflection were attacked with repetition
pleas for reason trounced upon and shouted down
my pain debated in the sounds of pointless jargon
as if emotions could be ruled by technicality

but telling courtrooms they don't know the law
won't change the law
and telling me I had no right to hurt
changed nothing
but the way my compass swung to walk away

​



no beauty

pain that sets up residence is not a watercolour; not a wilted petal portrait
it is endless fields of choking weeds; it is poison-coated spit that holds and
              clings in pockmarked blisters
pain that signs a lease inside your body is not a sigh-shed lyric
it is ripping inner membranes; it is skin that splits in unseen punches;
it is screams that can’t be heard on film
no lit-to-flicker cigarettes
                             waving pretty smoke for breath
             un-snuffed by heart-shaped tears
pain that calls a soul its home is trash piled up for weeks
it is unwashed clothes; rat bites and bottles; wounds that stay infected to
             open without cue
no hourglass or watch for warning; no gilded frame; no staged romance
no beauty

​




let them waste their breath

vitriol flows with slippery ease

when echoed laughter holds a darker cackle;
rebellion wears a quiet smile

coil away the cables
that power fuel to anger’s flames

hold back the moth inside you
who guides your hand to spark reaction


hold yourself aside from cruelty's comfort
stand back and let them cackle

let them burn their mouths on malice
let them waste their breath

​

​

Sarah Jane Justice creates poetry, music, and fiction; with work published by Caustic Frolic, Midway Journal, and Capsule Stories. She has also released two full length albums of original music, performed at the Sydney Opera House as a national finalist in the Australian Poetry Slam, and was nominated for a 2022 Pushcart Prize for short fiction.