POEM OF THE MONTH AUGUST 2025:

Jacob’s Song

I lost count of how many times I have ever

watched that episode of Saved by the Bell

Every person in my generation knows

which episode I speak of immediately

The one where Jessie Spano becomes

addicted to caffeine pills and crashes

I have never belted out lyrics from

The Pointer Sisters out of defiance

I was more of a downer kind of guy

I had a favorite palindrome in Xanax

Six years later, I’m free from its clutches

but in those years, I’ve combatted anxiety

Sometimes I win; sometimes I lose

but the pain will linger regardless

“Jessie’s Song” hits differently now, reminded

of that brutal crash, reminded of withdrawal

Reminded of how I couldn’t sleep without

popping that palindrome, I was fearful

Fearful of whether detoxing could render

my mind and body deceased, agitated

Aggravated, my pain invisible to the masses

Flushed like the last five pills left in the bottle

The anatomy of my fall from grace was

clinically dead, my brain revving up

to the speed of sound, mathematically

like a dragon’s force looping endlessly

Jessie - I felt for you, and I know caffeine

was meant to be speed, but sanitized

Crucified by addiction, happy ending

in counseling, but it’s still television

I wish my vices were that simple to kick

I wish my voices were that simple to silence