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Joshua Jacob
I’ve watched you for a while now.
You always sit in the corner here, working on a novel you’ll never finish.
You really regret starting it.
But you’ve told everyone you’d do this, you’re stuck.
It’s honestly been fun to see your “writing process” these past few weeks.
Sipping the same coffee for hours on end,
cursing under your breath,
sending vulgarities through the wind
silently mailed to nearly everyone you know.
Even beating your head against the keyboard one day.
You had been working on that one scene for weeks.
Shame you had to cut it.
I’ve been watching you for a while now you know, following you everywhere you go.
You didn’t notice me though.
That’s ok, you didn’t have to.
Most people don’t, unless it’s almost time for us to meet.
It’s strange, honestly.
People know I’m there; I’m not trying to hide.
So why are they always so surprised to meet me?
Even you, you’re staring at me like I have three heads.
You even dropped that coffee.
…
That’s probably for the best.
Get a new one. Mix it up a little, try something new.
Oh, don’t worry.
I just wanted to say hello for now, off duty.
Well, I’m never off duty.
I’m actually here to meet that fellow in the newsboy cap. But that’s beside the point.
It’s been a while. We haven’t met in… years now. Yes… years.
You saw me back then,
meeting your mother as she decided to join me.
It was strange that you did see me… but I must admit,
it was a welcome change of pace.
You even gave me a little wave as I left. That made my week.
I never could get an answer from the boss as to why though.
You deserved a gift for that. A boon, you could call it.
I will have to officially meet you soon. I won’t say when.
But it is soon.
I wanted to give you time to prepare.
A little gift to one that made me smile all those days ago, even while she was breaking.
You can decide what to do with that time.
But some advice, from one who has met many who’ve forgotten about me and who’ve been forgotten?
Make sure you’re happy.
It makes our next meeting much more pleasant.
Anyway, it is time I take my leave.
I do wish you well. I’ll see you soon.
Joshua Jacob says, “Hello everyone! My name is Joshua Jacob, and I just graduated from Rutgers with a Biomedical Engineering degree. I’m from the town of Piscataway and have been reading basically anything fiction since I was a kid. Though I must admit video games have taken up more of my time these past few years, reading is still my first love, and has been one alongside Mets baseball and Giants football for quite a while now.”
Joshue wrote this poem in a creative writing class taught by Professor Susan Miller. Miller selected the piece for inclusion in WHR.