A Letter Home By Jake St John

We approached 

the Russian 

sitting by 

an open flame 

along the edge 

of the wood 

we soon realized 

upon introduction

he was not Russian 

but an American 

sitting by a small fire 

in the Siberian wilderness 

he was smiling.

Jake St. John lives in the woods on the edge of the Salmon River. He is the author of several collections of poetry including Lips Leave Scars (with Jenn Knickerbocker, Whiskey City Press, 2023) Ring of Fog (Holy and Intoxicated Publications, 2022), Night Full of Diamonds (Whiskey City Press, 2021), and Lost City Highway (A Jabber Publication, 2019). He is the editor of Elephant and is considered an original member of the New London School of poetry. His poems have appeared in print and online journals around the world."