Poetry: “A Triple Sonnet for the Lost” by jason b. crawford

A Triple Sonnet for the Lost

after Dorothy Chan

everything the light touches becomes
light; spiraling backwards. skulls of grey
wolves, elephant husks, beaver tails
all planted in gloves of our mother’s willing
ankles. we prayed to get somewhere
and somewhere we got. found
a new name for joy and all of her
beautiful singing sisters, o shaped mouths
praising the glory of becoming ghost. o’ glory
we have been here before; been made
a hymn out of a boi/a dress/a frozen tongue
been in search of what we forever called
the promise land. turned stone to boat to
ship tossed across the heavy ocean sky

a ship was tossed across the heavy ocean sky
into what most would claim to be oblivion’s
sweet kiss. but we know death like a lover.
how to hold them close,                wield them
like a blunting blade. why must all this
seem so familiar; this catching of spectors
flying loose from my father’s wrinkling
hands. we sought space and choose space
and found space                                                where,
we will never tell. but i can say, here it is
beautiful, these masterful pine trees; old oaks
full of green stories and too long laughs;
we made it; but now we haven’ much time; just
look at where the outline of the water falls

look at where the outline of the water
chases the toes of the land
can you not see it? over in the distance,
my grandmother’s scooping cackle
my grandfather’s drying knees buckled over
tiran, dressed in two hundred gold links
the edges of our love’s brilliant
bodies pressed against the ocean bed
listen to them sing, all of them
even the ones i refuse to name, again
listen to them, so loud, so bright
so brown and glittered covered, sing
“we are free” “we are free” “we are home”

About jason b. crawford

jason b. crawford (They/Them) is a writer born in Washington DC, raised in Lansing, MI. Their debut chapbook collection Summertime Fine is out through Variant Lit. Their second chapbook Twerkable Moments is out from Paper Nautilus Press. Their third chapbook, Good Boi, is forthcoming from Neon Hemlock press in fall 2021. Their debut Full Length Year of the Unicorn Kidz will be out in 2022 from Sundress Publications. crawford holds a Bachelor of Science in Creative Writing from Eastern Michigan University and is the co-founder of The Knight’s Library Magazine. crawford is the winner of the Courtney Valentine Prize for Outstanding Work by a Millennial Artist, Vella Chapbook Contest, and Variant Lit Chapbook Contest.  They are the 2021 OutWrite chapbook contest winner in poetry. Their work can be found in Split Lip Magazine, Glass Poetry, Four Way Review, Voicemail poems, FreezeRay Poetry, HAD, among others. They are a current poetry MFA candidate at The New School.