Industry and 25th 

art by Jacelyn Yap

by James Croal Jackson

Industry

So much industry in your mouth– fake a gasp
as you unzip your pants. Another binge.

At your worst, you are greed
and restless enough

for the pizza to come, for the beer
you gulp & burp from plastic cup,

a heap of chicken wings to devour
without tasting a thing,

squeezing a flood of ranch out of plastic
to smear on your lips like ChapStick

every day but it is only brunch
on Sunday

25th

I wore a gray-black striped shirt. You made
me a cookie dough ice cream cake. We drank

Rebel IPAs that ended with a stabbing pain
in your stomach. You asked, are you mad we haven’t–

I probably was. We drew a storm with cigarettes,
exchanged darkened clouds in our back alley.

And yes, we smelted iron before we slept,
and through this photo, I remember.

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