Coming of the August Grandchild

By Brandon Shimoda Brandon Shimoda

Not even the males and the men of the males

make use of their pinched tongues

to sing, not even the females

and the women of the females, corollas stemmed to spray on end

sing their ruddy stones

The males and the men of the males

feel the sea

the ranch and the wheat, rice ears

polyglottal weddings

unseasonable lips

one body to the next

Indigenes displaced by indigenes displaced

wherein the ranchlands, then the fields of wheat, burn to the crust

The choice between taking the flowers-of-the-trees-

to-blossom and the long-as-the-rocks

always lands on the flowers-of-the-trees-

to blossom—

bouquet thrown hurriedly into the sun

Source: O Bon (Litmus Press, 2011)

Biography

Poet Brandon Shimoda was born in California and grew up in Connecticut. He earned a BA at Sarah Lawrence University and an MFA at the University of Montana. His collections of poetry include The Girl Without Arms (2011) and The Alps (2008).

Shimoda’s work weaves together personal and historical journeys, ruined landscapes, and innovative writing techniques. Publishers Weekly described the poems in The Girl Without Arms as . . .

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