Jason Brightwell




Blackout summer
starless nothing.
This third act is
a broke-glass dance.

Old photos—
even the wallpaper
wishes it were some-
where else.

I will always feel
empty now—
unbearably light.
Time is getting

closer to running
out. Bring a season of
evenings, candlelit.

Scan the past, milk-eye.
Find a comfortable
chair to
die
in.

Jason Brightwell’s work has been published around the world in journals and magazines including: Gravel Magazine, East Coast Literary Review, Phantom Kangaroo, and The Tower, among others. His first full length collection, Graveyard Dogs, (Kelsay Books) was published in 2023. He is the managing editor of Gigantic Tentacles Magazine. You can find him online at www.jasonbrightwell.com.