jessi jarrin
If Grief’s a Year, It's the Year You’re Born
Every October I hear the front door say
I wanted more than to be a haunted house!
I’m tired of listening to the walls here
I never talk back anyway
In my head I say I prefer
To keep my sadness displayed
Do not move the box
Under my bed
Do not keep a secret
If you can’t keep a promise
Do not cry again for a man who left
Do not become him
Lie about how happy you are
When your good friend visits
Lock your door and count to twenty-three
Because it’s your favorite number
Dress up as a person because you are a ghost
And you’re so good at it
You’re so good at it
No one can see you
Leave the boxes and the babies
Count to twenty-three
Do not hang
Christmas lights because the house
Wants to be something else
And what is your childhood
If not a home that asks for more?
jessi jarrin
Jessi Jarrin is an Ecuadorian-Korean writer from Lakewood, California. She received her BA in Creative Writing from California State University, Long Beach and is a co-founder of the literary journal Art of Nothing Press. She will be pursuing her MFA at UC Davis in the fall. Her poetry deals with different types of trauma, including childhood and family, in order to understand the experiences and people who have shaped her.