Jack & Rose by Hannah Siden

May 29, 2023
Poem title: Jack & Rose Poet name: Hannah Siden Poem: I named them Jack & Rose And they were the most romantic, glamorous geese This side of the neighbourhood They weren’t really supposed to be here, everyone Commented, but look how adorable they are Two little beaks against the world Curled side by side on the manicured lawn By the neighbours’ turquoise beach chairs Like they were on their honeymoon I described their epic love story to my boyfriend Did you know swans mate for life? I know Jack & Rose are also together forever Yesterday I found Jack alone, curled on the grass Looking too small without Rose Today I saw Jack wandering too close to the street Looking for something over and over again Today I saw Jack standing in the street Not moving when a car grazed his wing I stopped and stared My heart with his, lonely on the meridian You jinxed it by naming them Jack & Rose, says my sister There are coyotes in the neighbourhood, you know, says my dad My boyfriend just looks sad, like maybe they had been our Good luck charm after a shit year I hope Jack hangs in there I guess I knew that life is almost never fair And yet – I had remembered the violins, the dancing, but somehow Had managed to forget how The Titanic actually ends End of poem. Credits and bio: Copyright © Hannah Siden Previously published in Sledgehammer Lit, 2021. Hannah is a writer and filmmaker living on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations (Vancouver, BC). Find her on Twitter @hannah_siden or at hannahsiden.com