it seems that jack had to go to hell and back
in order to write

jack
born in lowell mass.
small mill town dying as he grew
writing secret joyful papers
for himself

jack
too sensitive to survive this world
with joyous soul intact
tormented soul
with rucksack on back
full of unpublished wonders

who
lived the irony
that finally getting published
was the end and
not the beginning
of the rest of his life

jack
numbed his pain with alcohol
until it stripped his soul
of all beautitudes
leaving a coarse and redneck stranger
who died
in shock pain and alone
killed by his pain killer
bleeding out
from a dead liver
at the end of a dead soul's life

jack
safe in heaven now
i hope he writes for private joy
up there
(whever heaven may be).