Author: Brandon White Music & Poetry

Brandon White was born in Huntington, West Virginia, and raised in Arkansas. An accomplished songwriter, he has released multiple albums, EPs, and singles over the years and has had over 30 of his songs licensed for use in retail stores and restaurants. After the birth of his twin daughters and the death of his father, White shifted his focus from music to writing. The Year that Stole the Light Away is White’s debut poetry collection, published by Raw Earth Ink in May of 2020. White currently resides in Fort Smith, Arkansas

My 36th Birthday

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I’m 36 today and beyond grateful.

My 35th year was the beginning of a significant shift in my life physically, mentally, and spiritually. I’m committed to the work of aligning myself with my highest good.

My third book is coming this Spring, and I’m excited to share it with you all. Already I can sense things beginning to bubble up in my mind, what’s likely to be the beginning of book 4, but that’s for another day.

I’m surrounded by so much love, and my wonder remains intact and sparking; no man luckier than I.

Happy Birthday, Dad.

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The reminders sneak up on me now. I don’t dread them the same way, yet they remain razor-sharp upon arrival.

I’m trying to type this through tears, and I’m happy to say I’m okay now. That isn’t to say that I don’t miss you terribly, especially on days like today.

But I feel you now. I couldn’t before, but I do now. At the edges of my mind, forever just out of reach.

In my heart, I know we’ve done this dance before, and we’re likely to do it again. For now, it’s the physical reassurances that I miss the most; your hands, your eyes. Your impossible spirit remains, carved from love and undeniable.

Happy Birthday, Dad. I love and miss you so much.

-Brandon

Best of Ways – A Poem by Brandon White

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Best of Ways

I bear witness to your innocence
and for its preservation I do pray
For your safety and my vigilance
It breaks my heart
in the best of ways

The student and the teacher
these are the roles we trade
We are but briefly sinless creatures
It breaks my heart 
in the best of ways

At night I hope you dream 
of something better than what waits
after childhood colors fade
to grown-up gray
It breaks my heart 
in the best of ways


-Brandon White


Photo by Kenzie White

•

A piece for all the Momma’s and Daddy’s out there; the veterans and the newly initiated. What the rest of the world is searching for, we’ve found. 

Love,

Brandon

Their Eyes Beyond – A Poem by Brandon White

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Photo by Brandon White
Their Eyes Beyond

I drive myself crazy
imagining ways
to pierce the veil 

How the mind might 
be used to fold and tear
the fabric of perception

that one might peek through
to the world beyond
the wool 

Consider our limitations,
how few colors and frequencies
the mind can endure

Dare we open our arms
to what we can
only hope to comprehend?

To that which is, 
has been,
and will be?

Before you, before I,
known before
we knew

Before the first pair of eyes 
set skyward,
before a mind wondered;

What waits for us there?
Or, perhaps more 
importantly,

who?


-Brandon White

Book 3 – Spring 2023

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While watching ink dry on the contract for my third collection of poems, I realized how much life fits into these pages. It feels much longer than it’s been since my last offering.

I’m grateful to my publisher, @tara_caribou, for her continued support, guidance, and honesty. There’s no better feeling than knowing those you collaborate with want what’s best for you and your work.

I’m also grateful to those of you who continue to support my endeavors. Your kind words, encouragement, and inspiration are a gift.

There’s much work to be done, but this feels like a moment worth remembering.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered.
Book 3 – Spring 2023.

-Brandon

Book 3 – Coming Soon!

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Hello Friends,

I’ve officially handed in the manuscript for Book 3.

There’s still work to be done, but I’m thrilled to officially be on the road to release and anxious to share the work with you.

Keep an eye on this space. I’ll be switching up my efforts to spread the word and giving sneak peeks and updates as they become available.

Talk soon.

Love,

Brandon

The Last – A Poem by Brandon White

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The Last

Become now the unwitting trigger,
the convenient symbol of a trauma
in which you had no part

Become now the beaten dog
at the mercy of validation's cruel hand;
dodging kicks, starving for love

Become now the bitter taste
that floods the mouth
at the mention of a name

Become now the last of your kind,
screaming into the nothingness
You're better when you're burning


-Brandon White

It’s been too long, friends. I hope you enjoy this new piece. More on book #3 coming soon!

-BW

Be – A Poem by Brandon White

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Center

There's a deep dissatisfaction 
within me

It keeps me hungry, curious;
pulling my introverted self

towards the world 
in hopes of capturing 

whatever may quell
such a feeling

Delivering me 
to songs, to poems

wild, wide-eyed things
not meant for taming

Glimpses of the meeting
of the needle points

The elusive center 
from which every moment 

came bursting
forth

You and me, these two inches 
of infinity between 


-Brandon White

First Calls – A Poem by Brandon White

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First Calls

I haven’t thought of the first phone calls
since making them three years ago
Aunts and Uncles, sisters, my boss, 
my shaky voice delivers the message:

He’s gone. It’s over.

“It” being suffering, false hope
We were left with shards of a life,
looking them over in bewilderment
until the words finally came:

Where do we even begin?


-Brandon White

Happy Birthday to Me

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Today is my 35th birthday, which feels like a significant number.

My thirties have been a blur of extreme change: love, loss, gratitude, self-abuse, and expression. I feel I’ve lived a lifetime in the last five years.

As this is the halfway mark to 40, what’s to come of all this change? What’s the lesson? What became of the poetry that seemed to pour from me?

Recently I came to realize that i was out of alignment. My spirit had moved forward while my mind continued to cling to the pain and poor habits I’d established over recent years.

So to meet the muse where she must be met, I’m dedicating my mind and heart to rediscovery in my 35th year. To live, fully, while there’s still light.

My third book will be my best yet. I will champion my work, I will celebrate yours, and I will know myself better than I ever have.

I love you all,

Brandon