All These Things Are Broken
written by: Jackie Oldham
The World—
Africa splitting in two,
Mainline US coasts
and Alaska sinking, too.
Arctic Permafrost melting;
Europe in a heatwave baking.
Everywhere—
People with guns
Spilling the blood and guts
of family, friends, and
Strangers who
Spoke one wrong word
Or no words at all,
Or simply gave a look,
Breaking the shooter’s
Sense of self, worth, balance,
Not knowing
or caring
That the World
Never stops moving
and shaking.
In a Universe constantly expanding
Everything breaks
But is recast
and reshaped
Into something new.
Jackie Oldham (she/her) is a writer from Baltimore, Maryland. Her personal blog, baltimoreblackwoman (WordPress), about life, family, and events in her hometown, is in its 8th year. Since 2018, her focus has shifted to poetry. Her poems have been published in Global Poemic, Oddball Magazine, Rigorous, and Spillwords.com. Her first contribution to an anthology, "Ode to Lucille Clifton," was published in the book, A Fighting Place, A Loving Place, A Charmer: The Baltimore Anthology (Belt Publishing, Cleveland, OH, June 2022).
Latest posts by Jackie Oldham (see all)
- All These Things Are Broken - August 17, 2022
- Of Their Own Time Immemorial - February 12, 2022
