Two Poems

by Brook Blander

 

Stupid

(from now that I’m here; lyrics from the mud to the sun)

 

…is what they call her.

Without regard to her name

She is introduced by her circumstances.

Blood vessels color the whites of her eyes

They look so deep into her mirrors

 .      that they bypass their own reflections.

 

 

 

Survivor Child 

(from Personal; Intimate Comforts of Reflection)

 

The things that I have seen

And should not have seen

Paint a picture of what makes my backbone

Both straight

 .      and twisted

Up against thin walls

Hit with fists

.       that missed

.       faces.

Behind the broken vessels of bloodshot eyes

Beneath matted hair of sweat and juices

From mounting each stair with heads

Knocking out hope

.       No more hope.

.              Hope is gone.

Even the little bit tucked away in small eyes

That have seen it all.

 

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Brook Blander is the author and poet of six works of non-fiction, literary fiction, and poetry collections, including her most recent collection entitled “now that I’m here; lyrics from the mud to the sun“. Her first novel, The Secrets of Mercy, a historical fiction work about the story of four women and their search for what freedom truly means to each of them, is slated for release Summer 2013 in honor of the 150th anniversary of Emancipation.

Blander currently lives in Texas with her family and a spoiled little dog, a Lhasa Apso named Cocoa LaBear.