Quantitative Trespasses

By Jason de Koff

The starkly inked numbers
are now but delusions,
the solid footholds
that once spoke of truth
now receive blankets
of paint or plaster
to cover the demons,
and sand is the grit
that instead fills the ears
to keep a steady course.
But that August day still comes 
where labored breathing
is the Sirens’ call of phantoms
and the blindness still pervades the soul,
whispering its gentle guidance
from the blistered lips
of dying breeds
unwilling to grant freedom
where freedom is long overdue.

Jason de Koff (he/him) is an associate professor of agronomy and soil science at Tennessee State University. He lives in Nashville, TN with his wife, Jaclyn, and his two daughters, Tegan and Maizie. He has been published in a number of journals including C&P Quarterly, Bandit Fiction, The Daily Drunk, Sledgehammer Lit, Ayaskala, Fahmidan Journal, Near Window, Briefly Zine and Words & Whispers. His chapbook, “Words on Pages”, is currently available on Amazon at https://amzn.to/3eookJk .