ISSUE 40
August 2008

Steven Ford Brown

 

Steven Ford Brown, writes on boxing for BoxingHerald.com, folk and rock music for BostonMusicSpotlight.com, and his work has appeared in The Christian Science Monitor, Harvard Review, Rolling Stone and BBC Radio. His recent book, Microgramas, by Jorge Carrera Andrade, was published in Quito, Ecuador. He lives in Boston and was recently in residence at the Swedish Writers' Union in Stockholm.

My System of Government    


I am the foolish accomplishment
of myself, an ego surrounded by
flesh and bone, singing the human

economy of living. I am the politician
of myself arguing with rogue political
parties that refuse to allow me to govern

in a democratic way. I assert to those
who will listen—friends and relatives—
I am a practical man, ruled by shining

principals, even if I am the benevolent
dictator of my own heart. Am I impoverished
or enriched by my system of government?

The sun rises to shine over the landscape
of my human endeavor, my foolish accomplishments,
the warring congress of my appetites.

 

 

Steven Ford Brown: Poetry
Copyright ©2008 The Cortland Review Issue 40The Cortland Review