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I am not at war now,
I was not at war then.
The music of air and fire
warmed us, the cascade
of flames, the river
light and glitter
and the balconies where we stood
looked over the black clouds
of gunpowder and beauty,
of harmony within screams.
Along the road, along the high rises,
glass and concrete melted
and everywhere around us,
symphonies ebbed and fell,
changed cadence, changed notation,
and cannon fire added confirmation
and just the right amount
of counterpoint to the composition.
- Michael Brownstein 2014
Michael H. Brownstein has been widely published throughout the small and literary presses. His work has appeared in The Café Review, American Letters and Commentary, Skidrow Penthouse, Xavier Review, Hotel Amerika, Free Lunch, Meridian Anthology of Contemporary Poetry, The Pacific Review, Poetrysuperhighway.com and others. In addition, he has nine poetry chapbooks including The Shooting Gallery (Samidat Press, 1987), Poems from the Body Bag (Ommation Press, 1988), A Period of Trees (Snark Press, 2004), What Stone Is (Fractal Edge Press, 2005), I Was a Teacher Once (Ten Page Press, 2011) and Firestorm: A Rendering of Torah (Camel Saloon Press, 2012). He is the editor of First Poems from Viet Nam (2011). Brownstein taught elementary school in Chicago’s inner city (he is now retired), but he continues to study authentic African instruments, conducts grant-writing workshops for educators, designs websites and records performance and music pieces with grants from the City of Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs, the Oppenheimer Foundation, BP Leadership Grants, and others.
