New Poetry by James Croal Jackson

Like a box of chocolates

Did you know what you were going to get, strolling

through the supermarket handpicking chocolates,

deciding between pecan bon bons, truffles,

and white chocolate shells filled with fudge?

We did not yet know the salt of incandescence,

your caramel smile on the roof of my mouth,

blind with each other’s taste, the lavender

some sickly rose blooming.

We melted together in the sun not worrying

about how our distinct tastes would smelt and swirl

around in our greedy mouths how our tongues flicked

and explored until we were almost satisfied but

every good thing melts the way autumn crumples

at the peak of its most swirling sweetness.

- James Croal Jackson 2016

James Croal Jackson writes poetry and occasionally music. He lives in Columbus, Ohio, USA. Find out more at jimjakk.com.