By Angela Jackson

I’ve been old.
I’ve been poor.
I’ve been vulnerable.
I’ve been exploited.
I’ve been called an angel.
I’ve studied spiders.
I’ve lingered in love like a hummingbird outside a window.
I’ve likened myself to a pigeon, a dove.
I’ve been duped.
I’ve been brilliant.
I’ve been a genie in a bottle.
I’ve been let out.
I’ve been put back in.
I am in the dark.
How to get out with love in my mouth?

Poet Bio

Angela Jackson is a Chicago poet, playwright, and novelist. She has received numerous honors for her fiction and poetry, including the Pushcart Prize and the Poetry Society of America’s Shelley Memorial Award. See More By This Poet