Two poems by Jacob Russell

Mar 18 2010 13th & Morris

Line of roof tops to the end of the _______
converge
Think

of the philosopher’s toe in the sand
(Plato’s alter)
of history

geometry of change

Think
important things
are things

windows, sashes, bottle caps
trees in bud

Listen      
mid-March
and the sparrows
silent all winter
noisy for mates

(came all the way from England)

dressed in feathers    Oh,

Look around and see
there’s more to history than Kings
or Counting House

That cat for instance
asleep in the sun

a dream of rats
in the granaries of Sumer

a recipe for beer
in clay
from the banks of the Euphrates

the words to the song
long after we’ve forgotten the tune

===================

untitled

clouds
         signal
the widening gap

intermittent

appearance
of blue

between what we think
we see
and what we see

though praise for the monosyllable is endemic
I'm not convinced

I must name each bus
with its passing      such

multiplicity of faces
the darkened spaces in the windows
the invisible

thoughts that lie
to the side

to the side
we see

no more

a mono-syllabic
          eye
in the glass
domed
night

Author bio:

James Russell lives and writes in South Philly. His work has been performed by InterAct Theatre and appeared in Criiphoria 2, Conversational Magazine, Connotations, BlazeVox, Scythe, Salmagundi, dcomP Mag, Pindeldeyboz, Battered Suitcase, Salmagundi, Beloit Poetry Journal and other literary venues. With the help of his Spirit Stick, he hopes to complete a second novel in the next few months, and is seeking a publisher for a MS of poetry. He manages the literary blog: Jacob Russell’s Barking Dog.