A Flag to Remember by Stacy Jackson
A Flag To Remember
Stacy Jackson
2019, Poetry
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I want to be clear about my intentions with the way I am making the notes on poetry books. I am not reviewing the books in a classical sense. My intention is to write my thoughts about the work as I read it. This is just my ideas and things i might alter or change, and maybe some critique of the work. It is not intended to overly criticize the author or their work. I wouldn’t spend time reading an entire book if I didn’t appreciate the work. That said, I’m giving the books a score based on my own gut reaction to the work. It’s just my opinion and should be taken with a grain of salt.
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23 September 2025, 7:42am
“A Flag To Remember”
I think it can be difficult to write poetry for a cause, even when that cause is important to the writer. I have struggled with it in my own work, and have increasingly avoided topical or cause-oriented poetry. In this case, because of the nature of the collection, or what I believe to be its nature, we need something to act as the gates we walk through into the author’s world. I like this as the opening poem. It’s a declaration, but I hope it’s also an indication of what to expect. I think the poem could be tightened up just a bit, and there are some grammatical issues. I’ve read a lot of self-published poetry, and these are pretty common across those poet’s work. I think it’s a minor (and easily solved) issue. I probably won’t mention it throughout, unless there is something egregious. Good start.
“The Undecided”
Hmm…This is a brief poem, presumably about those whose gender is only defined as a part of cultural norms, but which would otherwise remain nebulous. Maybe it is nebulous to those individuals still, even though there is pressure to put oneself into the boxes built by our societies. My only critique of the writing would be that not every poem needs a rhyme. I suspect now that there will be a heavy emphasis on rhyme, but that’s a talent few possess. I certainly don’t. I think if the author wants to be fully honest, she might try not forcing the poetry to rhyme.
“Penchant For Hoodies”
Storytelling. I could see this whole situation, but it was told is only seven lines. “Smuggled with goosebumps” is a great line. It tells me a lot about the speaker.
Title suggestion: “Hoodies”
“An Ordinary Poem”
This little poem is so close to breaking free and becoming something. I am usually okay with referencing a classic or clichéd poem, but I think maybe this could have started with just the classic lines and then the poem could start to become unraveled until we get to “We know people change / We know people change to.” Those two lines in particular feel like the start of something else, like a cycle of repetitions interspersed with examples from the author’s life where people didn’t change. That would start to sound like a chant of hope in a world that doesn’t deserve hope. Promising, but ultimately flat.
“When you’re rejected by your mother and your father, you’re always looking for someone to replace that love.”
“The Butterfly who is Always Fearless”
I don’t have a lot to say about this. There are some confusing lines, but it is either a poem to the author herself or to a sibling, so I fear that crucial context is missing and having work like this double checked by someone is good. They can tell you where there might be some confusion. I think it does a good job of making me want to know more about who this person is. I wanted to explore some of those details.
Title suggestion: “Fearless Like A Butterfly”
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February
I remember a number of times during church activities, specifically Bible Bowl, when I would drift off into my own world of introspection, wondering how much love I would find in these people if they knew this awful truth about me. I pretended to have crushes, marking my papers with the most obvious name, hoping to be caught pining for one of my teammates. I quickly became outspoken over my disdain for the public education system’s willingness to teach homosexuality as acceptable. I was turning on myself and was only 14.
I had an eye appointment and then work after school. I was almost finished at work when Travis & JD showed up. I tried to avoid them, but they seemed angry. I just walked out to the parking lot, letting them follow me. I intended to go home and forget the day had ever happened. But my car was missing. Defeated, I got into Travis’ car. We drove around a little; they told me they had gotten permission from my mom to keep me away all night. They told me that they didn’t care that I am gay, but they were angry that I had been so depressed and didn’t tell them.