lone cirrus wisp
a temporary arrow
pointing back toward home
by James Brush
Tag: napowrimo 2016
and she said the waves would come
the way she said the stars were gone
beyond/beneath were synonyms
and for once I listened and believed
how was it that we found our way
in imaginary boats
across this sun-flecked sea
where she said sharks once lived
beyond horizons and beneath the waves
ocean curls waves foam
sand toes sunk deeper down
lifeguard flags snap warnings of sharks
and wind and high concentrations
of bacteria washed down from floods
two days drive north of here
how was it that we found our way
how was it that we found this sea
how was it that we knew the stars
how was it that they led us home
///
sulphur butterfly
stone skipping across the sky
wind and highway noise
see your son
a gun in his hand
belt of shells
around his waist
disarm that boy
teach him—
find diversion
without annihilation
///
Erasure poem from a letter written by M.B. Davis of Waco to the Texas Congress of Mothers in 1910 regarding the widespread killing of grackles by children who were encouraged to hone their marksmanship skills
Source—“A History of Austin’s Love-Hate Relationship with the Grackle” by Andrew Weber on kut.org
my yard work helper
throws mud, laughing
high forties
running through sprinklers
in filthy pj’s
like Guthrie his
guitar screams
this machine
kills fascists
this guitar
is an animal’s bite
imperfect neck gripped
tight to sparse
applause for a
street busker
trying to change
the world
each measure
a fool’s gamble
might as well
ask the planets
change orbits
for a few coins?
a loose needle
some matches
a few bucks
in the guitar case
open like a mouth
in mid-phrase
///