In my mind, there’s a guard
at the gate wearing a tall fur hat
and a thick strap on his chin.
Unsmiling, he raises his hand
and warns me not to pass,
to turn around before I see
empty slippers in the closet.
To keep the TV silent rather than watch
the next season of the series we loved.
To leave our favorite ice cream in the freezer.
Like Buckingham Palace,
there’s a guard blocking entry
to a large ornate building
with many beautiful rooms
I’m not ready to visit again.
Jacqueline Jules is the author of Manna in the Morning (Kelsay Books, 2021), Itzhak Perlman's Broken String, winner of the 2016 Helen Kay Chapbook Prize from Evening Street Press, and Smoke at the Pentagon: Poems to Remember (Bushel & Peck, 2023). Her poetry has appeared in over 100 journals. Visit her online at www.jacquelinejules.com