In this once-was of gardens and succulents behaving madly, who has the ability to call
themselves
     delighted?

I want to be variegated with leaves so new I’ll turn to deer and eat my own tenderness.

In this difference of Sundays, I want to hear—a molten of gospel, among tuft-y grasses
and yellow irises. All chanting in shapes and echoes.

Who knew that Sparrows had so much to say? Aren’t you pleased murmuration is a real word?

Jacqueline Hughes Simon’s writing has appeared in the Cal Literature & Arts Magazine, The Cortland Review, Okay Donkey, Boaat Journal, Pine Hills Review, Pennsylvania English, The Rail, and the anthology Processing Crisis (Risk Press).She was nominated for Best of the Net by Okay Donkey in 2020.

Jacqueline attended the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference and The Community of Writers’ Writing Conference on numerous occasions. She received her Master of Fine Arts in poetry from Saint Mary’s College of California. Jacqueline is a volunteer and board member of an environmental education nonprofit, where she works with and trains the donkeys.