JAYDN DEWALD is a writer, educator, musician, and the author of three limited-edition chapbooks, The Rosebud Variations: And Other Variations (Greying Ghost, 2017); In Whose Hand the Light Expires (Yellow Flag Press, 2018); and as counterpoint to this compressed mass a longing (forthcoming from Sutra Press). His poems, stories, and critical essays have appeared in Brilliant Corners: A Journal of Jazz & Literature, december, Poet Lore, Portland Review, south: a scholarly journal, and many other publications. He’s a PhD candidate at the University of Georgia.

MICRO

VIGIL WITH BACKYARD POND

By JAYDN DEWALD

I’m too old to still see you—