DC Poets: Jacqueline Jules

Words Offered to the Grieving

You’ll be okay.

After the accident,

I sat on the gurney, watching

with calm detachment,

the doctor stitch

my mangled finger.

In time you will heal.

I pulled back,

cradling my bandaged hand

against my heart.

Healing is a shallow word,

a remedy for skinned knees,

torn ligaments.

You will recover.

Really?

One recovers from surgery,

the loss of an internal organ—

a hysterectomy, a kidney stone.

Words offered to the grieving

must be powerful . . . immense  . . .   

the size of . . . a blue whale.

I’m sorry.

Gashes can be sewn,

sutures removed, leaving

scars barely visible.

But you will remember

the throbbing,

the black spots blurring sight—

the overwhelming need

to lie on the ground

and bleed.

Jacqueline Jules is the author of the poetry chapbooks, Field Trip to the Museum (Finishing Line Press) and Stronger Than Cleopatra (ELJ Publications). Her poetry has appeared in over 120 publications including Potomac Review, Little Patuxent Review, Arlijo, Poetic Voices Without Borders, Innisfree, Minimus, and Gargoyle. She is the author of thirty books for young readers including Zapato Power and Never Say a Mean Word Again. Please visit her online at www.jacquelinejules.com