That Buzz

afraid i would lose my poetry buzz
i smoked weed

afraid i would lose my weed buzz
i drank some beer

afraid i would lose my beer buzz
i sat down and thot
about you

and what's not fair

like done is done

and you've not won

your one true maiden i am
you are my long lost
sailor in arms

we are each other's jailor
bail bondsman
and lawyer,

but unlike the law
we've been true,
my love,

i never want to lose
that buzz

zzzzzz zzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzz


-Bree 2011

Where Do I Go?

Where Do I Go?

where do i go
when all i see is leaves roots dirt and snow?
when i see the mountain, am i not really
in the mountain? and if not in,
then where do i go?

where do i go
when im not in the dirt and snow?
where do i go
tell me when its cold?
where do i go when im setting
aside these ragged bones
if not in the leaves, roots,
dirt and snow?

where could i be
when i feel the cool water rushing
over me?
when im in the ocean
how come i cant really be
the ocean?

sand sticks where it shows,
so where do i go?


-Bree 2001

Johnnycake

Johnnycake

hungry for some sweetness
but your man aint feeling right
grandma gave me a recipe
he’ll be loving you all night

one cup of sweet milk
and one cup of sour
two cups cornmeal and one cup of flour
a swig of molasses, baby, some soda and salt
and the way he’ll be acting
won’t be your grandma’s fault

when you make him johnnycake
you won’t be so hungry no more

stir it up, put it in a greased pan
and bake it up right

so you want some sugar
but your man’s feeling old and tired
grandma gave me the secret
go and get your oven fired

when you keep a man’s mouth
full, honey, he will satisfy your appetite

when you make him johnnycake
you know you wont be so hungry no more
stir it up, put it in a greased pan
and bake it up right.


-Bree 2004

Prince John

Prince John

i walk down to the graveyard again
past the japanese maples and american
flags, to where the daffodils in spring
like a carpet are spread, where the sun
pours down on both the living and dead

read in the paper you made your big deal
i still make my money behind the wheel
driving kids we cldnt raise to a primary school
i sit between stones on my axle

prince john you been gone too long
maybe you’ve found love where it don’t belong
but the sun pours down on the here and gone
as i sit by the stone of our lost little one

my stone might read
here lies a princess
whose governing body her prince caressed
before he left like a fast lane of traffic

your stone might say just how heavy you
felt in my heart that day
i cld not get out of bed
you took me in your
arms and held on, whispering magic

prince john you been gone too long
maybe you’ve found love where it don’t belong
counting daffodil petals, it don’t mean much
like being one card short of a royal flush

was a day when we both believed in a castle
are you still whispering magic?

-Bree 2011

Impersonating Fruit

Impersonating Fruit

Come with me
into an empty banana peel I found
stretched across a field
like a wide sweet hammock

Let the fibrous lining cling
beneath our skins
with irregular dips like stone
dressed in downy sprig,

I’ll slip into your stalking cap
and steer you near the stem
and bend your arms and legs
around me,

like a wide sweet hammock

I’m sure I’ll feel quite at home
impersonating fruit with you

yes I said I’m sure I’ll feel quite at home
impersonating fruit with you


-Bree 1995

What Will Become of Us?

What Will Become of Us?

i may never know your softest spot
your touchy one, but i know your calm,
your waters, your good taste in wine
and you offer me your eyes,

so i offer up my woman to your man,
still i ask you, to what prince do i cling?
what will become of our being us
as a separate thing?

what will become of our being us
as a separate thing?

you sir are all about raw energies
i snake and bend with these
even after our collapse

we resurrect in each other mad
feelings of a love that we cannot reject

still you have to realize
the gift im giving you is life
so i ask you, to what prince do i cling?

what will become of our being us
as a separate thing?

what will become of our being us
as a separate thing?


-Bree 2000

Dolly

Dolly

i was never your dolly really,
all stringy hair and laces
my legs instead are two organic
pencils hairy, that rarely look
new in stockings, my neck an overgrown
gosling’s, still my cheeks burn mauve candy for you to lick

if only they made dollies who preferred being
stuck in a corner to being stuffed with a diseased lolly pop
and another ladies misplaced hips, if only they did

if my gingham skirts werent
your obsession, darling
what haunted you most as
you buckled that other
ladies shoes?

perhaps youd remember my crooked nose whose
bridge housed spiders while you kissed her
or those grapefruits that section my legs
as together you would bathe in champaign

still my blank beetle eye click
running in place while you memorize my face

if only they made dollies who
preferred being stuck in a corner to
being stuffed with a diseased lolly pop
and another ladies misplaced hips,
if only they did

i was never your dolly really,
these rags werent made for riches
i guess i never meant to be your princess bitch


-Bree 1996