poetry by Jenna Jaco

Roleplay where you’re the surveillance state

Your head swiveling. Middle finger
under my tongue as bad thermometer.
Eyes recording and transmitting
every part of me that glistens
then every part that does anything else.
All forty of our window panes admit
the same amount of sun, even the ones with
dried condensation not-dripping down their middle.
Even the ones with the storm sludge around
their edges. There is no escape. There is no other word 
for “spread.” You detect movement and choke it. 
This country respects only property. So come
deface me. Log me in the database
and misrepresent each value. Capture this heat
signature, force-feed it cookies. Deface me
and I'll. Fuck. Uh. It's hard to think 
with the cum on my knees in the future.
Deface me and I'll love you forever.


Jenna Jaco (they/she) is a genderfluid poet and technical writer from Texas. You can find their poems in Ballast, Fifth Wheel Press, Underblong, and elsewhere. Their debut full-length collection, Mall Water, was released in 2024 with Kith Books.