IT'S YOUR MUG ANNIVERSARY ISSUE Reuben Jackson   EAST BARRE The salesclerk claimed that the snow fell with a New England accent. I only knew that the cords I bought from L.L. Bean had not been purchased in vain, And that here, no one fought In order to snare the Last roll of toilet paper From an otherwise lonely shelf. The latter was reason enough To call my Southern kin— Whose minds were likewise filled With central casting notions Of the world above Boston. But the weather owned my eyes Like the gazebo at the foot of Main Street , where I wept, waiting for Jimmy Stewart’s ghost   UNTITLED I. east montpelier a tall, unshaved man sidles up. to his knowledge, i am the first colored man ever to attend the annual thanksgiving venison extravaganza. welcome, he says, cant speak for the others, but im sure the deer dont mind. II. pilgrim's progress whose father would get drunk first? jojo's? keith's? ray-ray's? mine? would he be sober by friday, or drink until scotch was an endangered species? which house would offer refuge if they made it a foursome? where could we sail to be free? III. facing the adirondacks i stand before the frozen lake my breath a series of short lived clouds lord please let me die here     DREAMING OF BUYOUTS A longtime colleague Rushes into my office, Sweating, to quote the late Ralph J. Gleason Like a grand jury witness. The rumor, she pants—is true. “Buyouts”—she whispers as if the word was a wounded x-ray. I want to remind her that it’s not mandatory— But suddenly I see my future: Naked and willing as my barber’s thoughts of Halle Berry. No more pinstriped fiefdoms— My boss’s voice Present but fading. Like a 20 year old hangover. An endless drive on a crowded road. Reuben Jackson has worked as an archivist with the Smithsonian Institution’s Duke Ellington Collection since 1989. His music reviews have been published in The Washington Post, Washington City Paper, All About Jazz, and Jazz Times, and on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered." He is an instructor at the Writer’s Center in Bethesda, MD, and a regular contributor to “Metro Connection,” a weekly radio news magazine on WAMU-FM. His poems have published in 21 anthologies, The Jazz Journalists Association website, and in his book fingering the keys. Jackson’s “haiku” was set to music by the late saxophonist Steve Lacy. Jackson has been interviewed for series such as NPR’s “Making the Music,” for documentaries on The 1969 Woodstock Music Festival and pianist Ahmad Jamal, and has participated in symposia at The Experience Music Project, The International Association of Jazz Education, The Library of Congress, and at several Duke Ellington Conferences. He lives in Washington, DC.   Published in Volume 10:2, Spring 2009.   Read more by this author: Reuben Jackson Reuben Jackson: Wartime Issue Reuben Jackson: Langston Hughes Tribute Issue