Self-portrait
Jackson Holbert
| poetry
To keep out the sand
I built a house
to uncover
each night its black
name
I built
poems
I sang
to keep small things
small
I had questions
for the trees
I had questions
like you
for the birds
It’s snowing on the sea
tonight
I get drunk
alone
raise a candle
before my eyes—
Jackson Holbert was born and raised in eastern Washington. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in Colorado Review, Willow Springs, and Best New Poets. He currently lives in College Station, Texas.