The Stanford Arts Review presents “Stacks”, a new miniseries where we follow fresh Stanford writers into the dusty stacks of Green Library. We sit down, crossing our legs and using a pile of books as a tripod, and listen to an intimate reading of one of their poems or short stories. Listen with us.

Loom

A Poem by Jackson Roach

a

lower me to

where the water meets the

water

where the dark water and the light begin

to interweave

b

in a dream i met a man in round glasses they were glowing in the neon at a truckstop on a highway he smiled at me and on his arm he had a hawk on his arm he had a real live
hawk

c

the way turning

toward the glass
light spilling over
the bridge of your nose

the way opening

your mouth
not to say something
but not to say something

the way listening
through your teeth to

a sound called

b

in this dream too a bird but this one blue this one a steller’s jay they call them liars or mark twain did skreeka skreeka this one so bright against the car hood painted black going fifty going eighty how does she hold on tight gripping metal how does the wind not take
her

a

to this place where
the water meets the water

the darker water and the lighter water interweaving

b

a red castle oh a red fortress oh a great red fortress with red walls and red towers and red roof and the sky red too and red wind in the red trees oh a bird oh a grey bird oh a sudden grey love
bird

c

your finger nails
against the wooden sill

the way named
click

a sound
not to not to say
something but
to say something

b

this a dream too old for my small life this a dream the way a talon is a dream the way an eyeball is a dream the way the sunlight flashing through the spaces between the feathers of the parrot on the upswing as it flies is a dream have you seen it have you seen

a

me down
at the meeting
of the waters
interwoven

Jackson Wiley Roach (‘17, undeclared) is from Los Angeles. He likes board games and Wikipedia. He sometimes makes things and posts them at wrzelewo.tumblr.com.

Justine Beed (‘17, Anthropology/Creative Writing, Multimedia Editor) is a hopeless wanderer hailing from Moscow, Windhoek, Maryland, Mexico City, Asunción, Tokyo, Cairo, and now Palo Alto, California. She loves good movies and music. Writing and film is her thing, but dammit she can’t sing.