Anathema
A Russ Cope Poem
Anathema, the old folks
say, and the town people
say, leaving the unfortunate
isolated and alone
out of what could be new
and promising, but it's just
a walking by curse.
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Russ Cope Poem
Deer Head Trophy
A Russ Cope Poem
A deer head trophy
on the wall, made of real
animal, talks to me.
Why did you, why did you
do this to me, it says
over and over again into
my own spiraling darkness.
A Russ Cope Poem
A deer head trophy
on the wall, made of real
animal, talks to me.
Why did you, why did you
do this to me, it says
over and over again into
my own spiraling darkness.
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Russ Cope Poem
RoadKill
by Russ Cope
It's a rain-swishing kind
of day when I am stopped
at the red light.
The truck in front of me
is loaded down with branches,
leaves, wooden flats.
A bit of what looks like
foliage sits still at the side
of the road.
The passenger hops out, gives
it a tap of the foot to avoid
teeth, and then hoists it in
the air.
It is like a stiff, glued carpet
and he plops it in the back,
pulling away,
leaving me thinking about life.
by Russ Cope
It's a rain-swishing kind
of day when I am stopped
at the red light.
The truck in front of me
is loaded down with branches,
leaves, wooden flats.
A bit of what looks like
foliage sits still at the side
of the road.
The passenger hops out, gives
it a tap of the foot to avoid
teeth, and then hoists it in
the air.
It is like a stiff, glued carpet
and he plops it in the back,
pulling away,
leaving me thinking about life.
Friday, September 18, 2015
Russ Cope Poem
Giant
A Russ Cope Poem
A giant washed up on shore
today
from God knows where
We played in his bones
until mother made us come inside,
and we stunk to high heaven
That night, we showered luxuriously
and planned how we would
build swords out of the rib cage
But his body was gone the next
day and we never found him again,
and what’s worst
is mother threw our baseball cards
and childhoods away
while we were gone at the beach.
Russ Cope Poem
No Face
A Russ Cope Poem
It’s honest to God the best
interview I’ve ever seen, people
pawing over a new piece
of tech, rolling it in their hands
like a joint and cooing like doves.
The last person interviewed sealed
the deal.
Underneath her wide brim
straw hat, there was no face, only a sound
coming out,
describing how she needed a new phone.
Just perfect.
Russ Cope Poem
Fang
A Russ Cope Poem
Today we found a tooth
made of stone, impressed in rock.
It’s probably the earliest known
specimen of fang, long before
we were walking out of the soup
and learning how to devour
each other.
I imagine I
could build a whole
animal around this one piece,
just start with the tooth
and go from there, slapping on skin,
hair, jewelry, neuroses, and therapy.
Russ Cope Poem
My Wooden Boyfriend
A Russ Cope Poem
Cami tells me her boyfriend
is made of wood.
I imagined
it as some kind of metaphor,
then I met him.
He stood in the doorway like
some dime store cigar Indian.
I can’t imagine how she pulls
the splinter out of her tongue.
Russ Cope Poem
Ethel Passed Away
A Russ Cope Poem
Ethel passed away today,
I got the text at about 9 when I was
trying to catch up from lack of sleep.
Oh, Ethel.
She used to howl at me the way dogs
howl at the moon.
When she served us
cake, she licked the knife with her large
tongue, and wiped her hands on the crotch
of her joggy pants.
Remember the time she decided the middle
finger was her favorite gesture and flipped
you off all Christmas season long?
Oh, Ethel.
It’s probably best she’s gone.
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Russ Cope Poem
Kernel
A Russ Cope Poem
There’s a bit of truth
in all fiction.
There’s a bit
of me in you.
A bit of you
in me.
I sneeze and the universe
says, yep, I know what that’s
like.
I spread and diffuse and merge
and we all speak together
without words.
Russ Cope Poem
Sunflower
A Russ Cope Poem
She’s my sunflower girl,
raspy voice, who takes my unwanted
hand and helps me find
the glow again.
She’s my sunflower girl,
knows some 80’s music, has
the power of infinity in her lips,
and kisses me away into the night.
Russ Cope Poem
Joiner
A Russ Cope Poem
She said, join in, but I had
heard too many stories and saw
too many religious types thump
their Bible one day and flap
their gums the next.
I could not.
When the altar call came, I sat
stiffened to my seat, refusing to
bend down.
Russ Cope Poem
Burial
A Russ Cope Poem
We buried the dog today
and the neighbors say he had
it coming. He
used to look out
the upstairs window and howl
as people passed by.
Sure, he
was good-natured when he was
young, but people grew to hate
him. Even we
hated him. So
there will be no marker for this
one.
Russ Cope Poem
Sex Manual
A Russ Cope Poem
Dirty and tattered on the outside,
dirty and tattered on the inside,
grainy pictures that don't do
life the kind of justice it deserves.
A Russ Cope Poem
Dirty and tattered on the outside,
dirty and tattered on the inside,
grainy pictures that don't do
life the kind of justice it deserves.
Russ Cope Poem
Personal Fictions
A Russ Cope Poem
I can make up any detail
about myself I wish
but the difficulty is that I
would never believe it
I could give you a piece
of me and let you run with
it like a kite
but I would know where
the key was tied to the string.
A Russ Cope Poem
I can make up any detail
about myself I wish
but the difficulty is that I
would never believe it
I could give you a piece
of me and let you run with
it like a kite
but I would know where
the key was tied to the string.
Russ Cope Poem
Tidal
A Russ Cope Poem
My courage comes in waves,
washing me away in the ebb
and constant flow, erasing
the features of my face, rubbing
free the crags of my being,
breaking my sharp edges into
smooth and polish places.
A Russ Cope Poem
My courage comes in waves,
washing me away in the ebb
and constant flow, erasing
the features of my face, rubbing
free the crags of my being,
breaking my sharp edges into
smooth and polish places.
Russ Cope Poem
Pavement
A Russ Cope Poem
I hit the pavement at
such a velocity that
it jarred me awake again,
this is the world I have
known and get to know
again,
welcome to this new
world where you are not
the star, I say to myself,
welcome to the cold slab.
A Russ Cope Poem
I hit the pavement at
such a velocity that
it jarred me awake again,
this is the world I have
known and get to know
again,
welcome to this new
world where you are not
the star, I say to myself,
welcome to the cold slab.
Russ Cope Poem
One of Those Guys
A Russ Cope Poem
I don't want to be one
of those guys who runs
down a list of cocktails
and has to try each one,
one of those guys who
takes advantage of an
easy situation,
one of those guys like
all the rest of the jerks
who have hurt you.
A Russ Cope Poem
I don't want to be one
of those guys who runs
down a list of cocktails
and has to try each one,
one of those guys who
takes advantage of an
easy situation,
one of those guys like
all the rest of the jerks
who have hurt you.
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Poems by Russ Cope
Check out my work at:
Dead Snakes
Poetry Super Highway
Eternal Haunted Summer
Wilderness House Literary Review
Bitchin' Kitsch
Enhance: The Last Issue
Adding more all the time.
Dead Snakes
Poetry Super Highway
Eternal Haunted Summer
Wilderness House Literary Review
Bitchin' Kitsch
Enhance: The Last Issue
Adding more all the time.
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