He goes where you can’t follow, like all the dead do. You wonder if he still dreams and eats and sleeps, if he thinks about you. At night, you hope there is a veil to lift, so he can hear your call.
A Thread
Alyssa Jordan
What is the significance of this work to you?
For me, both poems are a study in grief. They’re about yearning and the unknown. As I get older, the pain of loss seems to grow sharper, not gentler.
What is the significance of the form you chose for this work?
“A Thread” is my attempt at a type of poetry called the nonet. They’re nine-line poems, with the first line containing nine syllables, the next eight, etc. I hoped that the nonet form would capture a certain sense of inevitability. In “Song of the Drowned,” I chose free verse to try and use uneven beats. I didn’t want the rhythm to be contained by a set style.
What was your process for creating this work?
I wish I had a better answer. When it comes to writing, it’s usually me in front of the computer, listening to music and struggling to put feelings into words.
Alyssa Jordan is a writer living in the United States. She pens literary horoscopes for F(r)iction Series. Her stories can be found or are forthcoming in X–R-A-Y Literary Magazine, LEON Literary Review, and more. In 2020, she won The Molotov Cocktail's Flash Monster contest. You can find her on Twitter @ajordan901 or Instagram @ajordanwriter.