New Poetry by Greg Jensen

Loneliness is a Killer

In the small room you rent 

several floors above the city

you put two words together 

to make conversation.

One word follows

the sound of the other

but just sits there in the room

not explaining like a father

who comes home and stares

deep into the center

of the television.

You put yourself together

and have a day,

instant coffee

and a tinful of tobacco

for company.

Your heart feels

like a hammer 

swinging low

after a long day 

nailing two words

to keep four walls

from falling down.

When it stabs

you take a small tablet 

of nitroglycerine

and swallow another five minutes

of watching the clock.

You hear footsteps

in the hallway,

another door

closing on another

person who rents,

like you, loneliness

for next to nothing.

The cost of living

in this city is high.

You pay to keep 

yourself locked up 

after years 

being locked out.

- © Greg Jensen 2022

Greg Jensen has worked with unhoused adults living with mental illnesses and addiction problems for over 20 years. His work has appeared in 'december,' 'Bodega,' 'Crab Creek Review,' 'Fugue,' 'Rabid Oak,' and 'Porridge Magazine.' Greg holds an MFA in Poetry from Pacific University.