candlelight vigil
in the gunmetal streets
sharp rain sinking
into pittsburgh’s deep roots
two blocks
from your parents’
the synagogue where
your mom taught preschool
community
congregation
drowned &
drowning
the crowd’s
gathering silence
small fires
between bodies
we canceled
the halloween party
to gather at lilly’s
for proximity
how close
to eternity
we become
in each other
James Croal Jackson (he/him) has a chapbook, The Frayed Edge of Memory (Writing Knights Press, 2017), and poems in Pacifica, Reservoir, and indefinite space. He edits The Mantle (themantlepoetry.com). Currently, he works in the film industry in Pittsburgh, PA.
(jimjakk.com), twitter: @jimjakk
