“Luctus Herbarium”
2020-10-18
Written 26 August 2018 in Payne County, Oklahoma.
Brian Fuchs, “Luctus Herbarium” from Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Scissortail Press, 2020)
“Okie Dokie”
2020-09-16
Written 17 September 2019 in Payne County, Oklahoma
Brian Fuchs, “Okie Dokie” from Okie Dokie (Scissortail Press, 2019)
Posted 16 September 2020
“Mambo Italiano”
2020-09-06
This is how this poem appears in the book Okie Dokie. I’m considering rewriting it, or maybe I’ll just write something new to express these thoughts. We’ll see.
Written 22 August 2008 in Anchorage, Alaska & 8 September 2019 in Payne County, Oklahoma.
Brian Fuchs, “Mambo Italiano” from Okie Dokie (Scissortail Press, 2019)
Posted 6 September 2020
“Sweetwater, Oklahoma”
2020-09-01
Written 25 August 1998 in Claremore, Oklahoma.
Brian Fuchs, “Sweetwater, Oklahoma” from Okie Dokie (Scissortail Press, 2019)
Posted 1 September 2020
“Duncan, Oklahoma”
2020-08-29
Written 1 October 2018 in Payne County, Oklahoma.
Brian Fuchs, “Duncan, Oklahoma” from Okie Dokie (Scissortail Press, 2019)
Posted 29 August 2020
“Scissor-tailed Flycatcher”
2020-07-09
Written 7 February 2020 in Payne County, Oklahoma.
Brian Fuchs, “Scissor-tailed Flycatcher” from Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Scissortail Press, 2020)
“little SUPERHEROES”
2020-07-01
Written on or before 9 March 1998 in Claremore, Oklahoma.
Brian Fuchs, “little SUPERHEROES” from Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Scissortail Press, 2020)
“Watermelon Seed”
2020-06-24
Written 19 February 2020 in Payne County, Oklahoma.
Brian Fuchs, “Watermelon Seed” from Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Scissortail Press, 2020)
“Riley”
2020-06-20
for Riley Coy
Written 15 February 2020 in Payne County, Oklahoma
Brian Fuchs, “Riley” from Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Scissortail Press, 2020)
“Stillwater, Oklahoma : 4. Promises”
2020-02-19
Stillwater, Oklahoma
4. PROMISES
I’ve seen life’s simplicity and it made me smile.
I’ve watched the horses in their fields on the town’s edge,
visited cattle lounging in shade in July.
I’ve waved at the farmers on their tractors, thanked them.
I’ve laughed at the new goats frolicking and climbing.
I’ve seen your fuchsia redbuds in bloom, buds bursting.
I’ve seen joyful petals pushing out of branches,
the promise of Spring and potential of April.
I’ve chased butterflies, paused to follow scissortails,
I’ve danced with grackles with their long velvet feathers.
I’ve felt the sun on my back, warm and oppressive.
I’ve wondered in late Summer if the heat would leave,
felt the scorched grass and falling leaves of September.
I’ve found joy in the heat, remembering Autumn.
I’ve daydreamed about the promise and chill it brings.
Written 19 February 2020
Brian Fuchs, “Stillwater, Oklahoma” from Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Scissortail Press, 2020)
“Stillwater, Oklahoma : 1. Heartbeat”
2020-02-19
Stillwater, Oklahoma
1. HEARTBEAT
“a vast and magnificent landscape. The prairies bordering on the rivers are always varied in this way with woodland, so beautifully interspersed as to appear to have been laid out by the hand of taste… to rival the most ornamented scenery of Europe.” — Washington Irving
I’ve felt your beating heart;
thump thump… thump thump… thump thump…
thump thump… thump thump… thump thump…
Old folks still make weekly
pilgrimages to pray,
to seek God and solace.
Many hours of my youth
I spent rubbing the hands
of my grandma, wrinkled
and loose-skinned like mine now,
while the congregation
sang hymns from “the blue book,”
while old family friends
talked about love, dryly
reciting the red words.
Three times or more a week,
we’d gather to worship.
Thump thump… thump thump… thump thump…
I have felt the comfort
of belonging there, fell
for empty dogma long
before my welcome stopped.
Written 19 February 2020
Brian Fuchs, “Stillwater, Oklahoma” from Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Scissortail Press, 2020)
“My Native Valley”
2020-02-15
My Native Valley
Lacosha! you kept passing by.
We never picked bright yellow
flowers in the fields on Spring mornings,
and we never chased rabbits
through people’s backyards on
Autumn afternoons.
I’m still looking for words,
my voice muffled by fear,
to invite you to my birthday party.
Written 15 February 2020 in Payne County, Oklahoma.
Brian Fuchs, “My Native Valley” from Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Scissortail Press, 2020)
“New Kids on the Block”
2020-02-15
New Kids on the Block
If the spaces under the highway
had been a passage to a great
underground city, I’d still be there
living among the mole people,
still listening to your sister’s cassettes.
It was always over as soon as it started,
and I longed for you for years after.
The gas station stopped selling gas;
it’s just as well. I don’t drive that way
anymore and I don’t want the salty chips
we used to get before spending afternoons
listening to music at your house.
You’ve grown too great for me to see
and I’ve started shrinking into the cracks,
barely leaving a mark behind to find.
I’ll see you at the next protest
on the steps of the state capital.
I wonder if I’ll still be visible by then.
Written 15 February 2020 in Payne County, Oklahoma.
Brian Fuchs, “New Kids on the Block” from Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Scissortail Press, 2020)
“Cakewalk”
2020-02-15
Cakewalk
The mint’s taken over
and we just watched it,
eating sandwiches, piled
with fresh tomatoes picked
from the garden.
Love is letting a plant take
over a meticulously tended
bed for a child’s whim.
The tomatoes are gone,
and the mint reminds me
that things used to be
full of everything good.
Written 15 February 2020
Brian Fuchs, “Cakewalk” from Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Scissortail Press, 2020)