Poet, Songwriter, Artist
It comes all at once
as it tends to do;
Not like a sucker punch,
or some massive wave
to knock me off my feet
but more of a gentle hand
held to a cheek
or a voice softened
that the child not only hear
but understand
What does it say?
That somewhere behind
these endless cycles of growth and suffering
is the mechanism that allows their becoming:
A choice
-Brandon White
The lessons are endless, you know
and from the wrong perspective,
that may seem tragic
All I mean to say
is that you'll be continuously unfolding
-Brandon White
Keep the circle around you small
make it tight;
give it armor
Keep the world out
The stranger tells me it's the only way
and he's right
and so very wrong
and I’ve no desire to sway him
one way or the other;
it isn't my place
No, I belong somewhere
closer to the center
anchored in that foreign
but familiar place
where the first domino fell
where this all began with a word
-Brandon White
Shades of The Mother - 12/6/23
The day begins
with strange new
shades of the mother
She comes to me
in the form of a large woman
in a tiny car
She’s in the oncoming lane,
nearly hitting me
while making a sharp turn
I see her clearly
All bright red lips and white teeth,
like a clown from hell
Show me the one
who pulls the levers of karma,
I want names
Will you love it all?
This is the question
each time I cross her path
I'll find a way
I'll continue to open myself,
to make room
-Brandon White
Watching my daughter
lean into her work is a joy
The furrowed brow,
intense concentration
Yes, this is the way, little bird
leave no stone, as they say
There are infinite ways
to bring the vision forward
and you're reminding me
of this every day
And saving me
by doing so
-Brandon White
I’m searching for answers
before my eyes adjust
Vibrant questions ricochet
off of every surface
and there’s no cover
in sight
This is how my children say
Good Morning, Dad
and the times that I don’t
meet them with patience
return to steal hours of sleep at night
like poorly timed coffee or Eraserhead
This, I’m still learning,
are the steps to the dance
that is parenting
How could I forget, even for a moment,
that I always wanted
an audience with God
And here,
bright-eyed and bushy-tailed,
an endless stream of love
and sparking creativity,
has come to greet me
and ask for milk
-Brandon White
Observations - 11/30/2023:
Some days
I enter into the flow
with ease and grace
and sometimes
I struggle with the first thought
let alone the first word
Today, I'm wearing
two tons of parental guilt
around my neck
like others wear Christ
and I imagine
the weight is about the same
An endless flow of people
outside my door
Taking up their crosses,
laying them down
I meet neither with judgment
I'm only here
to observe
-Brandon White
••••
I've been staring at a quarter
on the ground, tails up
I've just enough superstition left
to ensure it goes untouched
Some say we daydream
to fill in the gaps
we identify
in our reality
I used to get a star
from my first-grade teacher
at the end of the week
If I kept my daydreaming in check
Now I wonder what all
of this would have been like
if they’d left me
to my work
I need to remember
to go inside today
I don't want to say much more
as I’d prefer not to be followed
-Brandon White
I still feel a small rush of panic
when nearing the end
of a phone call
Not that you needed to know
but I needed a way in, so,
here we are
The coffee’s good
The coffee’s always good
The coffee situation has been handled
Yesterday, I watched
half of a documentary about
the life of an artist I admire
At the time,
it felt as if I was glimpsing
some form of freedom
Today,
it’s just another prison;
all metal bars and ego
There's nothing
to hang your hat on,
nor a hat to hang
Somewhere
in that thought
Is a way out
-Brandon White
•
•
•
#poetry #poem #instapoem #create #freeverse
I'm enjoying this again
and I'm grateful
I also feel the old habits stirring
but I suppose that’s the point
to remember how to loosen the grip
how to open the hand
to watch the indescribable
arrive and depart
without attachment
-Brandon White
•
•
•
#poem #witness #poetry #transcend #musing #create
Brandon White 