Author: David James
Location: Linden, Michigan

David James' most recent book, She Dances Like Mussolini, was published by March Street Press in 2009. His one-act plays have been produced in California, New York and Michigan. He teaches for Oakland Community College.

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Jackpot of Love

I want to get drunker than I was last April

              from Species, Charles Boyle

but this time, run through main street singing
like one of the thousands not even considered
for American Idol. I want to show the world
I can pick myself up,
try to stay sober and ignore the loud ringing
in my head. I'll find a healthy cowgirl
and make her mine, carry her up to the golden gates
and get a blessing from God herself. I want to see
how life feels when there's love in every crevice
of my day. Let's grab the jackpot—rubies, diamonds, pearls
and make a home where fantasy
can live like a kind, gentle servant.
I want your face in the corner of every dream,
your words sitting on the tip of my tongue.
When we sleep, I want your hair like seaweed wrapped around me.
Coursing through my limbs, in my bloodstream,
I want chunks of love clogging my arteries,
knocking me down on my calloused knees. I pray for the strength
to drink your lips, your breath, your dark eyes, your hands,
and fall headfirst into your soul, innocent, for once, washed clean.

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