Sample Poems by Jonathan Bracker

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This Day

Six feet four, I
Must look an ass
Staring at what
There in the grass

I have to stoop
To contemplate.
Those flowerets,
The critics state,

Must strictly be
Ignored as long
As men stride by.
The poet's song,

They warn, must deal
With human needs
Alone. Beauty
Today impedes

The search for Truth,
They claim, as they
Too pass me by.
And yet this day

Remains: silent,
Expansive, clear.
Mine. For me to
Invite you here.

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Often, In This Neighborhood

Sparrows descend to hold
Their den meetings and then are quickly
Drawn as if on invisible wires
Back into the trees from which they came.

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On The Sidewalk As You Pass By

City sparrows,
Field mice with wings,
Scurry among fallen leaves.

Registering for their convention,
Each gives the same name:
"Happy He Who."

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Urbanite

Down the three steps
From the front porch
Of the cottage for rent
With its door propped open,
A sparrow hops.