Jessalyn Wakefield

CHESTNUT


the cure for the heart
is to cut your own hair.

chestnut swirls on the back steps.
i don't sweep them.
i am sorry.
i cannot sweep them.

some line about sea bird wings.
some line about love made on coney island.
some line about salt in the bones.
some line about-

this is the story of
the check that did not come.
the lover who would not wait.
the train that arrived
exactly
on time.

Jessalyn Wakefield lives on couches across Northern California. She is a letterpress printmaker and book artist.