poem
Volume 34, Number 3

Abandoning

Whoever said 
sex and hunger 
are our most powerful urges 
clearly never tried the stuff I’m on.

This stuff is
          teeth on neck
              cold static through veins
                  unpolluted stars

the piece of me that was always missing.

                                Need to cut back budget don’t need the
                                car       cable     friends

just need to be able to breathe.

We’ll go to dinner soon, my love
need a few more minutes to
                    no I can drive I’m fine
                    I just don’t want to.

I have to go
they’re waiting
they need
                    I only need
                                                  unless I don’t need them either.


—Jackson Dammann