Brooks Haxton Poems (12 Poems)
Submersible (Brooks Haxton Poems)
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? Psalm 42 Down from twilight into dark at noon,through darker, down until the blackcould not be more devoid of staror sunlight, o my soul, near freezingin sub-photic stillness pastthe fragile strands of … Continue reading
Deaf (Brooks Haxton Poems)
Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thywaterspouts. Psalm 42 The waterfall in sunlight is Godtalking to herself. Her voicepoured into the trees asksnothing, to prove nothing,and her way of askingsays by overflowing whatmay not be said. The streamunbroken … Continue reading
Storm (Brooks Haxton Poems)
Cattle egrets in the dry grass wadedlike white clerics at the hoovesof brood cows, heifers, and new calves. Forked lightning. Calm.The darkness in the cattle tank welled upand flooded the reflection of the trees. Turkey vultures wheeled, and wheeled away.No … Continue reading
Salesmanship, With Half A Dram Of Tears (Brooks Haxton Poem)
Gripping the lectern, rocking it, searching the faces for the souls, for signs of heartfelt mindfulness at work, I thought, as I recited words I wrote in tears: instead of tears, if I had understood my father’s business, I could … Continue reading
Sackcloth (Brooks Haxton Poem)
I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them. They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of drunkards. Psalm 102 I made sackcloth my garment once, by cutting arm … Continue reading
Rotgut (Brooks Haxton Poem)
The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. Psalm 121 On a hillside scattered with temples broken under the dogday sun, my friend and I drank local wine at nightfall and ate grapeleaves in goat-yogurt … Continue reading
Thy Name (Brooks Haxton Poem)
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? I will declare thy name unto my brethren.. Psalm 102 OK. Let’s not call what ditched us God: ghu, the root in Sanskrit, means not God, but only the calling thereupon. … Continue reading
Unclean (Brooks Haxton Poem)
I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert. I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the housetop. Psalm 102 The pelican in scripture is unclean. It pukes dead fish onto … Continue reading
1985 (Brooks Haxton Poem)
The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance; he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. Psalm 58 It was the fortieth year since Buchenwald: two thousand Jewish refugees in Sudan starved while Reagan visited the … Continue reading
I Want to Pray (Brooks Haxton Poem)
In the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Psalm 51 That young man firing his Kalashnikov into the playground has been made to know the hidden part. Me, I want to pray. I’m on my knees. But … Continue reading
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