Counting Value
A Tibetan monk spends weeks
carefully pouring colored sand,
intricate geometric designs
he will dismantle and sweep
with solemn ceremony.
A chef chops and sautés,
drizzles the plate with tasty flare
to hand off for quick consumption.
While I stand
beneath a tree in April
enchanted by the flutter
of pink petals drifting
gracefully to the ground.
No one belittles beauty
for being brief.
Yet when you emerged
from my body,
bloody and squalling,
I believed success
would be measured
in days outlasting mine.
As if the value
of your life
could only be
counted in years.
Kix Not Cheerios
She stamps tiny feet on the tile,
shakes balled fists and blonde curls.
Kix! Her bottom lip quivers between cries.
Not Cheerios or cornflakes or Chex.
Kix! Kix! Kix! Kix!
She absolutely must have
what is not available to pour
into the round blue bowl
life offers this morning.
At three years old,
my granddaughter confronts
how little she controls
what lies behind the cabinet door
with a rage I secretly share.
In time, she will learn
to stop pounding
the brass handle, accept
what is left on the shelf.
But our hunger
for more choices
will always remain.
The Best Man
At a ball game two summers ago,
they spotted a double rainbow,
arching over the stadium
and a double base hit
breaking the tie for their team
in the ninth inning.
That’s why, he says,
he’s sure my dead son
still attended his wedding,
still stood nearby as best man,
holding a double ring
of transcendent color
over the city skyline
and every posed picture
of bride and groom.
Jacqueline Jules is the author of three chapbooks, Field Trip to the Museum (Finishing Line Press), Stronger Than Cleopatra (ELJ Publications), and Itzhak Perlman's Broken String, winner of the 2016 Helen Kay Chapbook Prize from Evening Street Press. Her poetry has appeared in over 100 publications including The Broadkill Review, The Broome Review, Sow's Ear Poetry Review, Beltway Poetry News, Hospital Drive, and Imitation Fruit. She is also the author of 40 books for young readers. Visit www.jacquelinejules.com.