John Brehm

cantfindit

John Brehm was born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska and educated at the University of Nebraska and Cornell University. He is the author of four books of poetry, Sea of Faith, Help Is on the WayNo Day at the Beach, and Dharma Talk. His collection of essays, The Dharma of Poetry, was published by Wisdom Publications and is a companion to his acclaimed anthology, The Poetry of Impermanence, Mindfulness, and Joy, also from Wisdom Publications. His poems have appeared in Poetry, Ploughshares, The Gettysburg Review, Gulf Coast, The Best American Poetry, The Norton Introduction to Literature, and many other journals and anthologies. John offers a monthly Poetry as Spiritual Practice gathering and with his wife, Feldenkrais teacher Alice Boyd, leads mindfulness retreats that incorporate Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement lessons, guided meditations, and mindful poetry discussions. He lives in Portland, Oregon. Source

Second Helpings

I wear my heart on my sleeve,

or rather both sleeves, since

it's usually broken.

 

Sometimes when I join my hands

to pray, the jagged edges

briefly touch,

 

like a plate that fell and cracked

apart from being asked

to hold too much.

 

Published:

1999

Length:

Shorty

Literary Movements:

Contemporary

Anthology Years:

2025

Themes:

Faith & Hope

Love & Relationships

Mental Health

Literary Devices:

End Rhyme

when a poem has lines ending with words that sound the same

Extended Metaphor

a metaphor that extends through several lines or even an entire poem

Simile

a comparison between two unlike things using the words “like” or “as”

Tercet

A stanza of three lines of verse that rhyme together or are connected by rhyme with an adjacent stanza.