ISSN: 1941-4137
POETRY THAT ENACTS THE ARTISTIC AND CREATIVE PURITY OF GLASS
POETRY THAT ENACTS THE ARTISTIC AND CREATIVE PURITY OF GLASS
Justin Groppuso-Cook is a Writer-in-Residence for InsideOut Literary Arts Project & a Teaching Artist for Living Arts Detroit. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Glass: A Journal of Poetry, The RavensPerch, Foliate Oak, & the 2018 Mizmor Anthology among others. He received a 2015 Pushcart Prize nomination for his work featured in Duende. In 2021, he will be a resident for Carve Magazine’s Writing Workshops Paris. When not writing poetry or empowering youth, he is performing with his band, Asklepius, & creating a culture of healing with his brothers through Mesmerism Collective.
Also by Justin Groppuso-Cook:
The Indigenous Language of Mist
My Brother’s Birthmark
The Syncopated V, Adagio
The Lighthouse
Because I’ve been trapped beneath the floorboards
with no fulcrum to leverage myself. Because
I’ve held my breath in clenched fists
out of fear. Because I’ve grown up
with ghosts spending summers
on the other side. Because I’ve swamped
my lungs with algae & diving bells. Because
I’ve been the outcast, ostracized, fallen
from grace. Because I’ve chain-
smoked shadow, lost my voice in the dys-
rhythmia of depression. Because I’ve mixed
too many cocktails in my gut.
Because I’ve forgotten the words
to my favorite song. Because I’ve raked my teeth
through the dregs in an attempt
to remember. Because I’ve binged into
a blackout & shaped my eyes to fit
the morning after. Because I survived the night.
Because I’ve spread my mouth along
the horizon, swallowed constellations to purge
luminescence. Because I’ve pulled myself
from frigid depths of the inferno. Because the bags
beneath my eyes have cultivated gardens
of foresight, vision. Because once you become
a light you can’t not be a light — it is
of the unconscious, this shine, its brilliance.
I struggled with drug abuse & depression for over a decade. It began in my early teens & lingered into my mid-twenties. From lovers & friends to family, I was immersed in this seemingly inescapable haze. But in brief moments of clarity, I was able to slowly work my way through, being guided by some intrinsic knowledge that my life was meant for something much greater. After years of conscious healing, I have finally arrived at a place of love & strength; I now want to help others find this light within, this guiding force of our highest self. This poem details that journey & is a declaration that you too can overcome.
Glass: A Journal of Poetry is published monthly by Glass Poetry Press.
All contents © the author.
All contents © the author.
