John Brehm
John Brehm lives in Portland, Oregon. His newest book of poetry, Dharma Talk, will be published in September 2023, which is a long time from now. He’s trying to be — or at least to appear to be — patient.
— From December 2022Dudley Ball
The red hair and freckles, puffy cheeks / and constant perspiration amplified / his otherness. No one spoke to him. / But why do I see his face so clearly now, / the fear and loneliness in his eyes? / The faces of all the others I’ve forgotten.
August 2022Selected Poems
— from “Wanting Not Wanting” | I wish I didn’t / want things / to be other / than they are
June 2020The Empty Chair
Waiting for the poetry reading / to get started, I turn around / to apologize to the man / sitting diagonally behind me / for blocking his view.
May 2016Intrigue In The Trees
Often I wonder: / Is the earth trying to get / rid of us, shake us off, / drown us, scorch us / to nothingness?
April 2016No Day At The Beach
It’s no day at the beach / being me, I said. / It’s no walk / in the park. / I can see that, / she said.
August 2013Newborn, Brovetto Farm
Just under the dairy / farm’s hayloft, / a four-day-old calf, / big, soft, earth- / colored eyes, / looked exhausted, / slightly affronted
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