poetry

I’ve only ever had threesomes

I’ve only ever had threesomes: Myself, my sexual partner, and some third thing that hovered over and between us, Like netting cast against mosquitoes, Except the mosquitoes were my own mind. * Well, not exclusively threesomes: My purest sexual experiences have been with friends, Times where the pleasure was something which flowed from our friendship,… Continue reading I’ve only ever had threesomes

essays

The great centering: my Saturn Return and the loss of grand narratives

On a crisp morning in February of this year, I received an email from the principal of a Catholic school in my area which read: “Dear Jackson, are you currently employed?” From both the tone and the brevity, I instantly knew that this was a job offer to fill an unanticipated absence. It was two… Continue reading The great centering: my Saturn Return and the loss of grand narratives

essays

Holding the symbols generously: marriage, child-rearing, and existential purpose

Does marriage hold meaning outside of convention? If all lives end, then isn’t marriage’s “permanency” a passing illusion? Don’t the joined souls ultimately separate in the great beyond or, if they remain merged, doesn’t that merging collapse any notion of their being separate to begin with? The same could be said of child-rearing; if the… Continue reading Holding the symbols generously: marriage, child-rearing, and existential purpose

essays

Climate

A little over two years ago, I stood with a friend in a town where we had both elected to go to grad school. “Why are we doing this?” I asked him, “Why is anyone doing what they’re doing? I bet society as a whole will collapse in the near future.” My friend said he… Continue reading Climate

poetry

The natural order

If there was ever a natural order, It is the part of you that knows To press a wound to stanch the blood, That knows to place cool cloth on the forehead Of the incapacitated, That knows.   Women have always been The knowers of this knowledge, Sacred protectors and keepers Of their children. Show… Continue reading The natural order