Jack B. Bedell
Slow it Down
somehow.
That's what I keep telling myself. And then
the sky burls all pink along the horizon,
then purple, then deep blue to black, and
a nighthawk chases mayflies across
open space, and breath after breath after breath
just escapes into sky.
Jack B. Bedell is Professor of English and Coordinator of Creative Writing at Southeastern Louisiana University where he also edits Louisiana Literature and directs the Louisiana Literature Press. Jack’s work has appeared in HAD, Heavy Feather, Hawkeye, The Shore, Moist, Psaltery & Lyre, Dirtbag, Some Words and other journals. His work has also been selected for inclusion in Best Microfiction and Best Spiritual Literature. His latest collection is Fight Nights (Blue Horse Press, 2025). He served as Louisiana Poet Laureate 2017-2019.