Reuben Jackson was born in Augusta, Georgia, and has spent most of his life in Washington, D. C., where he now works as an archivist with the Smithsonian’s Duke Ellington Collection. His work has appeared in Chelsea, Indiana Review, Catalyst, and The Plum Review and he is the author of the collection Fingering the Keys (Gut Punch Press, 1991). He loves poetry a great deal, but would give it up in a second if he could sing like Marvin Gaye. (updated 1993)