B. Fulton Jennes
Wake Up on Wednesday, Sober
sip seltzer water at a party, sober
let the dog sniff every tree trunk, sober
park between two lines without closing one eye, sober
wave to neighbors at their mailboxes, sober
climb the stairs into church, sober
pass the liquor store without looking in, sober
pay the taxes on time, sober
tip the server who forgot my water, sober
feel fear and not need to douse it, sober
look into my eyes in the mirror, sober
sleep a full night, dream of flying, sober
donate my mother’s clothes to Good Will, sober
pass a police car on the highway, sober
tell my daughter I mourn the muddled years, sober
realize it’s been another year sober, sober
say thank you thank you thank you. Sober.
B. Fulton Jennes’s poems have appeared widely in literary journals and anthologies, including CALYX, Comstock Review, Rust and Moth, SWWIM, and Tupelo Quarterly. Her collection Blinded Birds (Finishing Line Press) received the 2022 International Book Award for a poetry chapbook. Another chapbook, FLOWN, will be published by Porkbelly Press in 2024. Jennes‚’ poems have won awards from the Lascaux Review, Helix Magazine, Stone Canoe, and others. She is a multiple-time Pushcart Prize nominee.