Robert James Russell’s Poetry
Posted by Leah Petersen on Jun 12, 2010 in Writers | 5 comments
Mr. Robert James Russell, or @robhollywood, is an amazing writer.
Oh, you didn’t know that? Well, I won’t tell anyone. But quick, get thyself over to his blog so you’ll be in the know. And so you can say you knew him before… .
And here’s the teaser. He posted some poems on his blog and they were also featured on Year Zero.
Here’s a sample, my favorite of the four, Woman at the Bar
WOMAN AT THE BAR
I saw a woman
at the bar tonight
sitting by herself
drinking light beer and
trying to talk to the bartender
when he walked by
but he wasn’t impressed
no one was
her hair was dirty
thin and cracked
and her face
looked haunted
and her makeup
was shoddy
and there were
deepset wrinkles
that went on for days
around her mouth and eyes
she took shots of Patron
like candy
and was wearing something
like what you’d find
at the Salvation Army
but not in a trendy way
I avoided eye contact
we all did
and eventually she left
shuffled out and looked back
only once
then it was quiet
and everyone
regained their composure
but I realized that
with her gone
the light had suddenly
gone out of the place
But make sure you don’t miss his novel excerpts, from Impossible Monsters, either. They’re fabulous.
Enjoy. You can thank me later.
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leah’s reading
Shelf Awareness
thoughtful,elegant.
beautiful, thoughtful.
i am not sure why, but reading your poem emotively directed me towards revisiting a book i have by alexander faulkner shand.
Thank you both.
What book, if I may ask?
Aren’t they great?
I love when someone points at a cloud and sees a rabbit or elephant. And then they ask me if i see it? “The rabbit,the elephant…do you see it?” I may not see exactly what they see but I am glad that I have someone else to keep company with, who also looks at clouds.
the book:
“Foundations of Character”
the section is regarding sorrow:
“Of the Contracting Tendency of Sorrow “