Press-Ons

Justin Jannise

In a clear box, the nails arrive

already painted a matte light blue

behind clouds. I don’t need to tell you

the clouds are white.

Their round blubbery backs

rise and briefly sail

—a veritable pod of five or six

per nail.

I prefer my own glue.

It has a brush.

I check each finger for a pulse, and soon,

when I stretch

I’m mindful that

another quarter inch

of the wind above and the infinite

below appears within reach.

Are you a poet like me,

or is your love affair

with the sky already over?

It’s not clear,

it’s breathtakingly blue,

the sky. You told me to avoid that word

but sometimes one

will still slip through.

Justin Jannise is the author of How to Be Better by Being Worse. A graduate of Yale University, the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and the University of Houston, Justin teaches at Prairie View A&M University.
Originally published:
September 18, 2023

Featured

The Shapes of Grief

Witnessing the unbearable
Christina Sharpe

Writing in Pictures

Richard Scarry and the art of children’s literature
Chris Ware

Garth Greenwell

The novelist on writing about the body in crisis
Meghan O’Rourke

You Might Also Like

To a Son

Sarah V. Schweig

Theater Selfie

Gregory Pardlo

The Nature of Shelter

Brenda Shaughnessy

Subscribe

New perspectives, enduring writing. Join a conversation 200 years in the making. Subscribe to our print journal and receive four beautiful issues per year.
Subscribe