in louisiana we have
five different days of mourning
Jude Armstrong
the grass grows thick
& it will only be summer for a few more days.
so let me lay down, in this
state i am done suffering through.
let me be southern baptist & go
to the funerals.
give me a ball cap to block the sun.
hold me. & tell me how
the man on the tv
shot himself when
he meant to shoot his brother.
but he missed.
he missed the sun & hit the moon
but they both died anyway.
his ghost went to prison.
death is the only thing
that never seems to die
down here, where the marsh catches
fire, & reveals a mass grave sewn
into the soil. this is back before we got free.
got the freedom to shoot our brothers
got the freedom to go to jail.
got the freedom to have a funeral.
freedom to die means freedom to prayer
when it turns out the grandfather of the
man who shot his brother was in that grave
& you realize the only difference
between them two was the TV man
got the freedom too see the sun
with something other than his back.
Jude Armstrong
Jude Armstrong is a young poet and author of AN ALIVE BOY (Bottlecap Press, 2023). He is the founding editor of Verum Literary Press and has had his poetry recognized by Adroit Journal, YoungArts, and Teen Sequins. When not directing school theater productions, he enjoys 80s music, a good film, and advocating for trans rights.