Agastya Alfath photo
By
Jacqueline Jules
Signs*
In the store window, visible from the sidewalk,
a colorful sign, professionally printed
in four languages, welcoming all.
Not something I saw, growing up in the 60’s.
The windows of my small town sported
hand-lettered cardboard, barring entrance:
No Blacks, No Jews, No Dogs,
No Mexicans, No Japanese . . .
The mountain we’re climbing is high
and the promised vista still out of sight.
If only we were from Krypton, able to leap
in a single bound, to bring change
faster than a speeding bullet.
Instead, I take comfort in signs.
Printed in color, written
in alphabets from around the world,
posted in windows, planted in yards
as I march toward the crest of the mountain,
still determined to see the promised land.
*Hate Has No Home Here https://hatehasnohome.org/index.html
Smoking Bans
I remember
when every home had ash trays.
No one was asked to step outside.
The wispy white tendrils
were welcome in any building.
Bowling alleys billowed.
Butts littered break rooms.
Now smokers
are only seen on the streets—
guilty pariahs
hiding by back doors
and dumpsters.
In my own sixty years,
pulling out a pack in public
has flipped like a copper coin
from common to crass.
Who says voters
can’t change? Can’t care
for collective health?
Can’t discard addictions
acquired in youth, accept laws
declaring all have the right
to breathe free.
Jacqueline Jules
Jacqueline Jules is the author of three poetry chapbooks, Field Trip to the Museum, Stronger Than Cleopatra, and Itzhak Perlman’s Broken String, winner of the 2016 Helen Kay Chapbook Prize from Evening Street Press. Her work has appeared in over 100 publications including New Verse News, Rat’s Ass Review, and Rising Phoenix Review. She is also the author of 40 books for young readers. Visit www.jacquelinejules.com
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