Our Aberrant Darkness
by Jacquelyn “Jacsun” Shah
Here is a darkness I have
never encountered.
Many fingered, many bodied,
it’s made of cloud and thunder.
Here is the unexpected murk
gloom shadow without single form
but too many manifestations
of man and his coming crimes.
Here is a new night
to sleep in, night after night,
a night to wake to
each morning for how
many mornings? This darkness
is pressing down, down
on innocent dreamers.
Here is darkness with no
moon stars release
hope. For nothing,
no reason, we’re given this
startling absence of light.
never encountered.
Many fingered, many bodied,
it’s made of cloud and thunder.
Here is the unexpected murk
gloom shadow without single form
but too many manifestations
of man and his coming crimes.
Here is a new night
to sleep in, night after night,
a night to wake to
each morning for how
many mornings? This darkness
is pressing down, down
on innocent dreamers.
Here is darkness with no
moon stars release
hope. For nothing,
no reason, we’re given this
startling absence of light.
Jacquelyn “Jacsun” Shah, born and raised in Cincinnati, is a long-time resident of Houston, TX. Education: AB–Rutgers U (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa); MA–Drew U; MFA, PHD–U of Houston: English/creative writing. Publications: poetry chapbook (small fry); full-length poetry book (What to Do with Red); hybrid memoir (Limited Engagement: A Way of Living); poems in various journals. She was Gleam: Journal of Cadralor’s 2023 Pushcart Prize nominee. Obsessive, she has written 540 centos.