black hole
attaché case
brings me places
leaves no trace
opens worlds
takes no space
closes up
to save face
attaché case
attached to my wrist
my black hole
I cannot resist
Not an index — a set of paths. Follow a thread and the reading room below becomes that trail.
our heart goes out to the fallen soldier
another casualty of war.
the stakes are so real
who can believe it
who has the heart to feel it anymore.
our heart goes out to the fallen soldier
breathe life into its core.
take our heart with you to Him
you be its voice
we can bear it no more.
our heart goes out to the fallen soldier
it is you whom G-d adores.
how many tears we have wasted —
what use is our tears
when you have given your soul.
our heart goes out to the fallen soldier
this battlefield's taken its toll.
Here lies the invisible man
This stone marks his remains where you stand
He reached out to hold you – oh how he tried
He waved his hands before your eyes
Not even a blink; you walked straight through
Now shovels are still, respect is due
But low and behold
So subtle yet so bold
As the mourners drift by in single file
He clutches the earth and smiles
O glacier patient sway
Nothing mortal in your way
Ancient rhythm primordial play
Did you cover ground today?
Poets pine for words to say
What only silence gives away
Under the shadow of endless day
I fill my lungs and pray
"Paint my home
with the brush of Rothko."Brandon Russell · from "Art Like Sin"
alive
barely
at the side of the road
cars at my face
shoot like gunfire
missing its mark
my weary arms
the sun sinks in her lap
the horizon
and me
got a blind date
to meet head on
with indifference
manna falls like dew
taste all I want in you
nothing left over
melts like a dream
thirsty doe at the stream
nothing left over
taste in its meat
hunters savor the feast
nothing left over
thousand-mile journey
peaks turn valleys
always
already
there
a baby step
a perfect pool
a school of fish
a rainbow swimming
a prism passing
a glimpse from afar
a crystal shatters
a moment matters
a mother yawns
a new day dawns
I will dive into this pool again
I will take your hand
Poetry & design, 2017. The complete book — read it below.
Tears sown in my pillow
But you don't even know
Or maybe you knew
You snore right through
In deep dreamless sleep
I lie quietly nearby
Waking as the one
Who loved me in my dream fades
And again I face
