GAS Featured Poet: Jared Morningstar

 

 Jared Morningstar is a high school English teacher and adjunct English professor. He writes poetry and short stories that reflect his interests and observations of the world. In addition to literature, Morningstar loves music, playing guitar, late night diner experiences, and long road trips. His first book, American Fries: Poems and Stories, was published in July of 2020 by Alien Buddha Press. He lives in Mount Pleasant with his wife and children.

Happily Married in Sweatpants

We’re not Instagram glamour filters

or a knee-jerk flight to Vegas; 

we’ve never liked bad buffets 

or empty pockets.

We’re not a sweaty night out 

at the club every weekend

or some drunken bender 

so we can pretend we aren’t aging:

we have no desire to be YOLO 

when we have to be grown-ups tomorrow.

We’re no pity party 

because we can’t afford 

European vacations,

and we certainly aren’t the latest fashion,

Louis Vuitton bags or Rolex watches.

We’re picnics on the floor 

after the kids go to bed,

Ben and Jerry’s and Netflix,

a Target shopping trip,

family zoo adventures,

hyperventilation over 

catching a Snorlax in Pokemon GO,

and falling asleep to Golden Girls.

We’re the real deal:

best friends,

happily married in sweatpants,

with nothing to prove.