by ship they came
Italy to Lovejoy
breathe in
the fuel of work
rounding the corner
the sweet heavy cloud
of hauling
wheel spins center
clutch, shift, release,
accelerate
motor rumbles like grampa
before the steel mill
heart attack took him
moving product to market
Nakuru to Mombasa
Montecristi to Santo Domingo
Bay of Penty to Auckland
transporting me
and once exotic fruit
to port and home again
© 2012-2022 Brian Brown-Cashdollar
Month: April 2022
Sweet Summer Dukkha
June Yard Work
only seven days into summer
yellow sumac leaves fall
the sharp smell of cut grass
warning surrounding plants
keep mowing!
plenty of time left
plenty of grass to cut
July at Lake Erie
the warmth of noon sun
tempered by the lake breeze
suntan lotion everywhere
usedta be just for the beach
usedta smell
just like sand
August Light
summer’s fleeting
on the Niagara Frontier
half this childhood season
just to tell us — almost done
nights creep towards fall
whiles breakfast retreats
from sunshine
to dawn
to dark
© 2013-2022 Brian Brown-Cashdollar
Cool
/* May feel a little rushed, but I like the image of the physics of fear. */
light clinging to snowflakes
snow sticking to everything
a perfect squall
a travel ban
the roads were ours
swerving across medians
spinning through intersections
a high school thrill ride
me, Marty, Red
tires skating under street lights
boys hurtling towards snow banks
instinctively I palm the wheel
in the back Marty squeals
You’re so cool!
as I try to control the physics
of rubber, steel, flesh and fear
© 2014-2022 Brian Brown-Cashdollar
Mounts of Venus
her rigid
rheumatoid fingers
only bend so far
precariously
she braces items
cart to checkout
provisions in preparation
for the forecasted blizzard
© 2019-22 Brian Brown-Cashdollar
Un Comedor Internacionalista
Jennifer in Managua
on the outskirts of Gringolandia
twizzling a straw
drawing on her maracuyà
we were there for revolution
yep, that’s passion.
© 1989-2022 Brian Brown-Cashdollar
Taa iko
rocking on the porch
the moths all drawn
to the bulb above my head
the soft collision of wings
against hot glass
in the valley Machakos twinkles
what did they do
for millennia
before there was light
© 1987-2022 Brian Brown-Cashdollar