Poetry: The Louder I Sing by Jad Josey
In “The Louder I Sing,” the speaker wrestles with the void of departure: “come back come back come back?”
The Louder I Sing
Your glass left a perfect circle, and I
wondered if a more perfect circle had
ever existed, but we were not there to
talk about circles, not there to talk
about perfection. I was trying to sing
the words between your silence, to
fill the void with something not an echo.
The further away you moved, the louder
I had to sing. I sang until you believed
you were enough. I sang until you no longer
believed I was. The circle has begun to
fade, although I have not polished it
a single time. What is left to say except
come back come back come back?
Jad Josey
Jad Josey's work has appeared in Ninth Letter, Glimmer Train, CutBank, Passages North, and elsewhere. He has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and Best Small Fictions, and his story, "It Finally Happened," was selected for inclusion in the Best Microfiction 2021 anthology. Read more at www.jadjosey.com or reach out on Twitter @jadjosey.
