Alexander Jankiewicz

Venus and Mars

I remember stealing my big brother’s first girlfriend away from him when I was around eight years old. She came by one drizzly afternoon while I was outside catching worms. She asked if he was home. I told her that he wasn’t. She asked what I was doing and then, after I told her, I asked if she wanted to play with me. We stalked the neighborhood together, searching for worms that lay stretched out on the sidewalks. We did this until it started to get dark and the street lights turned on.

night sky—
another firefly
becomes a star

---

About the Author

Alexander Jankiewicz was born and raised in Chicago and currently lives in Germany. His work has been published widely in various journals, including cho, Haibun Today, World Haiku Review, Atlas Poetica, Lynx, and Drifting Sands, among others.