Delsea Beast
Jawn van Jacobs
A poem about the Jersey Devil.
there’s a devil in the pines –
half-blonde, half-brunette.
antler and auburn by day –
sank and sable by dusk.
moving bipedal, patchworked with mange
across pine needles at fourth degree gait –
bat-winged and taloned, perched at windows
with the face of a shrew and eyes of serpentine.
if your stare happens up high, there you’ll find
roaming at pine’s zenith, like a parliament –
all of his hundred eyes overlooking the barrens
keeping prey followed – each never founded.
step wary – don’t forsake the warning
of no cicada-song or crickets chirping.
if heard or seen, there’s no risk to his legend –
just your story – picked clean of all sentence.
Jawn van
Jacobs
Social Media: @jawnvanjacobs
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jawn Van Jacobs is a spitfire South Jersey poet who holds back nothing in the name of poetry. His work has appeared in Cools Beans Lit and Beyond Queer Words. Jawn’s work delves into the raw and untamed narratives of outlaws, illuminating the lives and perspectives of those living on the outskirts of society.