Jennifer Jantzen (18)
Angry
I didn’t dream of tiredness
I didn’t dream of you knelt over me,
forcing my hand
into prayer with yours
I didn’t dream
that you were crying this hard
or that you said
that
or that you meant
it
I didn’t dream of the way
your thumb ran over my skin
frantically, as if chasing
a pulse (and)
I didn’t dream of being angry:
I dreamt of birds
or kites, floating
but I don’t remember
never again
Spells
There are ancient places (even
if not really ancient)
that try to make you
disappear.
It’s not something forced:
here I am free-willed, walking
over red dirt road
brushing soft bristly plants
as they try to look tough
and I haven’t called anyone
/told anyone where I’m going
I just feel a pull
toward
these paintbrush trees
and the deep lost sound
of the watery wind
I want to be lost.
I want to become
whatever there is to become
because
there are ancient places
that take you with them.
Jennifer Jantzen (18) is a recent graduate of Concord-Carlisle Regional High School. While there, she worked briefly for her school's literary magazine and received the Paula Sirois Award for Poetry. She has been published in Alexandria Quarterly, Dancing Queen Zine, and Teen Ink. She will be attending Kenyon College in the fall.
Angry
I didn’t dream of tiredness
I didn’t dream of you knelt over me,
forcing my hand
into prayer with yours
I didn’t dream
that you were crying this hard
or that you said
that
or that you meant
it
I didn’t dream of the way
your thumb ran over my skin
frantically, as if chasing
a pulse (and)
I didn’t dream of being angry:
I dreamt of birds
or kites, floating
but I don’t remember
never again
Spells
There are ancient places (even
if not really ancient)
that try to make you
disappear.
It’s not something forced:
here I am free-willed, walking
over red dirt road
brushing soft bristly plants
as they try to look tough
and I haven’t called anyone
/told anyone where I’m going
I just feel a pull
toward
these paintbrush trees
and the deep lost sound
of the watery wind
I want to be lost.
I want to become
whatever there is to become
because
there are ancient places
that take you with them.
Jennifer Jantzen (18) is a recent graduate of Concord-Carlisle Regional High School. While there, she worked briefly for her school's literary magazine and received the Paula Sirois Award for Poetry. She has been published in Alexandria Quarterly, Dancing Queen Zine, and Teen Ink. She will be attending Kenyon College in the fall.