Bio: TONY BREWER is a poet and audio artist from Bloomington, Indiana. He is executive director of the Spoken Word Stage at the 4th Street Festival and co-producer of the Writers Guild Spoken Word Series. His books include Homunculus, Pity for Sale, psithurism, and forthcoming from The Grind Stone: Fragile Batteries. Tony has been offering Poetry On Demand at coffeehouses, museums, cemeteries, churches, bars, and art and music festivals for over a decade, and he is a frequent collaborator with experimental music & field recording ensemble ORTET.
Fucking Indianapolis
Neither of us addicts more like applicants locked into maintenance now the jungle of easement like the buffer non-park problems squat in Eyes open in the big chair wide with puppet holes where the show begins Making complex art for a city wall while houses flipped go greige so sick of handouts naturally color fades away Weathering manufactured too one weather for me one weather for you Just don’t look there so common we keep it going as if there is no other way How Did I Get Here Dad watches her take every toy out of the Walmart cage counting 1 – 2 – 3 Amber you know how this works & she just giggles I know she tells him never pausing her misbehavior Toys she doesn’t want litter the intersection of doll & robot It’s a free country Mom thinks walking just out of earshot browsing for a little something for herself Labor of Love Maybe a way to build temples with all the wonder without the slavery – though it has been debunked – that slaves built temples ever – not slaves in our conception – people who do what you say or die – more like wage slaves – sweat equity investment – like the cutters who had graduated high school and then straight to the quarries – backs bent from decades of shimming blocks – they stroll around campus with a sense of pride – and relief – you could put kids through college by building the buildings – at first a steady paycheck – then seed money for that starter home – etc. – back then such things were possible – now only imagination is enslaved – builds no temples unless a J-O-B is attached – imagine a church built on tithing you – no one would pray therein – more a series of knowing nods as the parishioners run their hands lovingly along the walls – they’d just hire the lowest bid today – which is an observation not a judgment – still well-built but corners cut – people have unanswered questions – which is why so many churches now resemble barns – something raisable – can be put up in a day – belief the fleeting commodity – always another brick –another swing of the hammer – another day closer to paying off that debt
Fevers of the Mind 