a poem by brian francis

Because I Wanted to Live Staggering Distance from Shadow


Another night below Baum, spent searching the catalogue of rainbow
imitations— nothing but hum and whimper. On the way home,
over its own shadow, the compass trips. Drowsy blinds

allow a glimpse into a semi-attached brick house. A haze of a man,
his offbeat dance, lips pouting kisses at each passing cloud. He confesses
I do not remember being born, but I have seen the scars. It looked like a rip

and run, handsdeep in pockets, it’s purged bounty. A stunning almost 
smile. A bitten tongue. Count the coins and walk the route. The chariot
might miss, but there’s no rushing home. Blood in mouth, the smile leans left.

Brian Francis is a Cave Canem fellow from New York City. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in Creative Nonfiction and has an MFA in Poetry NYU. His poetry has been featured or is forthcoming in Fledgling Rag, Cave Canem Anthology XIII and Tupelo Quarterly.

a poem by brian francis

Our City


elephants on parade
jasmine’s silver and
jade bracelets
move in unison
sketched words
whisper soundtrack
headphone clutch
still pray the old
fashioned way
mean it
moving further
from sequins
on the gown
our city without
sleep always
conversation halves
whomever answers
soft power
brown-outs
pulse march elephants
on parade     lover  
I am coming home
exhausted.



 

Brian Francis is a Cave Canem fellow from New York City. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in Creative Nonfiction and is currently an MFA candidate at NYU.

tu(n)esday! by brian francis

Brian Francis offers some choice tracks for today.


Rhye - Open

AlunaGeorge - Your Drums, Your Love

Erykah Badu - Back in the Day

Blood Orange - Chamakay

Big Boi - Raspberries

Mayer Hawthorne - Corsican Rose

Ski Beatz & Mos Def  - Cream of the Planet

Toro Y Moi - Campo

Sampha - Indecision

Quadron - Baby Be Mine (MikeJackCover)

a poem by brian francis

Jack in the Box Ode  


How clumsy his hands
proved to be
Carved you to delight
and terrify     Opaque
minstrel visited so
often springs rusty, face
chipped, surely once
you were your own

Hiccup in the music
          Wait on the beat
a drop.
Are you manic
in the silence? Do you
long for Geppetto?

You could be loved
to death.

"Jack in the Box Ode" originally appeared in Fledgling Rag (Issue 12).

Brian Francis is a Cave Canem fellow from New York City. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in Creative Nonfiction and is currently an MFA candidate at NYU.

a poem by brian francis

Lambneck


Broken leashes
make wandering dogs
of us. Mangy, ribs exposed,
heart visible
on the outside We were
eating pages we had to
write and could not send.
My belly is swollen
a corner of myself
to keep you
must carve it
where is your weapon?




Brian Francis is a Cave Canem fellow from New York City. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in Creative Nonfiction and is currently an MFA candidate at NYU.