Demon Poem by Wayne Jackson

You Cannot Be Free
By Wayne Jackson 1950-1989

You cannot be free
of demons
they say.
To be free of them you
must be dead

as sticks
as shit

and the star comes out again
Big
and
Big

I tilt my head back
look
at the ceiling
The reflected light
from the pool outside
form shadows
that flicker and turn
I smoke cigarette after cigarette
I pick a twisted fruit
the sun shines through the
bare
bare
trees

***