The jars near the window
Sometimes I mistake them for busts
Longing to belong to the real world
Imagined people,
Their stillness attracting dust
If my own skin cells adorn them,
How do I know they’re not me?
An extension of my mindset
Imagined travels,
Melting the paint of my still life like heat
My busts were not sculpted
To wait forever in one place
Bouncing aimlessly around my heart
Chiseled with a frown on its face
I’ll fill the jars with my fantasies
And whenever they begin necrosis
I’ll take their ashes out to the Pacific
And let them bust out in bloom in the ocean
Jennifer Klein is a writer, musician, and artist. Poetry is one of her favorite ways to make social commentary and merge her inner and outer worlds. Her poems have been featured or are forthcoming in Hawai`i Pacific Review, Fahmidan Journal, Trampoline, Bombfire, and others. She received a bachelor’s degree in English with minors in Dutch Studies and Norwegian from Indiana University Bloomington. You can follow her on Instagram @JenniferKleinReal
