Mark Jackley

When Gil Told the Office
His Wife Had Terminal Cancer

No one, least of all me,
wept or wailed.
No one pounded his fists
against the walls
or chanted in prayer.
For we are not a primitive people,
so we stared, mumbled regrets
and let the shadow pass,
then slipped back into
the coolness of our cubes.

—From There Will Be Silence While You Wait


CP

Mark Jackley is the author of three chapbooks, most recently Cracks and Slats (Amsterdam Press). His first full-length collection, There Will Be Silence While You Wait, is available from Plain View Press. He lives in Sterling, VA.