PoetryMagazine.com

Jackson

AUSTRALIA

Jackson (also known as Janet Jackson, Australia, b. 1965) writes and publishes poems, songs and prose, performs poetry and music, and edits and teaches poetry. In 2013 Mulla Mulla Press published her second full-length poetry collection 'lemon oil' and Fremantle Press a micro-collection in 'Performance Poets'. Her guest performances include the Tasmanian and Queensland Poetry Festivals. In 2012 Jackson was a writer-in-residence at the Fellowship of Australian Writers WA. She is a 2013 Literary Advisor for KSP Writers Centre and a member of the Society of Editors WA. Jackson publishes nonfiction at rawtext.blogspot.com. The National Library of Australia archives her collected poems and online home Proximity, proximitypoetry.com.

 

despite and because

 

I cannot be

what you have lost

and you may not be

what I never had

 

but still I long

just to hold your hand

just to walk beside you

on the less-walked path

 

because walking beside you

I am in my place

because dancing beside you

I can truly dance

 

despite and because

of your depth and dark

despite and because

of your shameless voice

despite and because

of your heartbreak face:

 

when you are dreaming

you are just so beautiful

that I want to die

since I may not touch

 

       From my chapbook 'q finger', PressPress 2011

 

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