Poem instead of sappy text [which you hate] // Jordan Barger

I’m real glad I had you around for a bit, ‘cause nobody does nothing alone. Sorry you’re from Pennsylvania. [missing you in front of all these computer info-zines] You’re real damn far now. Making noise in some other city, greyer and more European. [titles like: How to make noise with stuff from Office Depot] You told me a story once, about teaching a class of kids who wanted to make beats, and you used all your earnings to buy them gear. [one more: Design a flyer with the programs on your parents’ work laptop] You are constantly calling yourself a terror, but the world is more vibrant and loud because you are restlessly helpful.

Jordan Barger is a translator currently attending the University of Iowa's MFA program in Literary Translation. His translations of Yahya Hassan can recently be found in Circumference, FENCE and Poetry Magazine.