ADAM LEVON BROWN - POEMS

Adam Levon Brown is an internationally published poet and author in 14 countries. He has had his work translated in Spanish, Albanian and Afrikaans. Boasting upwards of 300 published pieces, you can find his writing at such publications as Burningword Literary Journal, Angel City Review, Firefly Magazine, Epigraph, and Burning House Press. Brown is founder, owner and editor-in-chief of Madness Muse Press LLC as well as assistant editor at Caravel Literary Arts Journal.

---

GOD'S SINS

​are wounds
which harbor
infection
 
Spread
amongst
the children
of trepidation
and fear
 
There are no
cures
 
Only miles
of unsearched
consciousness
 
rife with demon-scarred
stone

9 PM

​Woke up
around 9 pm
 
The coffee
was still warm,
signs of a struggle
 
Took a hard look
at my carpel tunnel
syndrome and decided
to keep writing
 
Flipped through
Youtube past the
political nonsense
 
Now I'm settled down
listening to Tom Waits
telling me to hold on.

Bipolar Blitz

​It’s four o’ clock in the
morning.  
 
I haven’t slept or eaten
in three days.
 
My brain is telling me
to complete 1,345 tasks
at once
 
Shoulders are hunched
and I’m cradled in a
fetal position in my bed
 
I am shaking and I
am thinking that
someone will burst
through my door
at any second to accuse
or abuse me.
 
I didn’t ask for this
I didn’t ask for any of this
 
Multiple suicide attempts
in the past keep me paralyzed
 
Tomorrow will be better…
I have to believe that.

 

The Day I avoided a Huge Ass Whoopin'

​Cruised around
Mohawk Boulevard
on a sunny low-swale day
 
I walked into
a Charity run thrift
shop and found a baseball cap
 
I ran it up to the cashier
who happened to be a woman
 
She smiled at me and let me
keep it for free
 
I bought a chicken burger
at a Carls Jr.
I cruised back and saw
a lone bum down on his luck
 
He was just staring into
nothing, the look of total despair
I sat the burger down next to him
and continued back to the charity
Store
 
I saw the woman there who had given
me my hat
 
I figured I'd try and talk to her
That was my biggest mistake of the day
 
She had a wedding ring
and her husband showed up none
too happy about me hanging around
 
He was a steaming engine of fury
and promised pain
 
He told me to get lost
I ran with my dog tail
legs and walked home.
 
That was the day I avoided
a huge ass whoopin'

Hell is a Bell Which Screams My Name

The alarm clock
is bellowing at me
from the night-stand
 
Forcing me to awake
from what seemed like
a dream
 
I survived the night.
I feel distraught over it.
 
Differentiating whispers
and voices of hatred
assail the inner-workings
 
I pound my head with
my fist and explode
into a waterfall of tears
 
Outside is the enemy
Outside is where they are at.
 
I don’t trust it.
I don’t trust anyone.
I don’t trust anything.
 
Should I end it?
I’d better not.
 
Should I end it?
I don’t want to.
 
Should I end it?
Shhh, be quiet.
Should I end it?
The answer is always no.
 
But the question remains
glued to my ribcage in
a sing-song version of
“This is Hell”
and everyone is humming along
 
except for me.
 ​