Two Poems by Brad Bisio

Mirror

i'm
an
ass

when

i'm
drunk
i say

whatever
comes
to mind

to
keep
up

the impression

i
know it
all

with
no
humility

until the next
hang-
over

and

i
look
reluctant-

ly in
the
mirror

ashamed

i'll need
a
drink

to
tolerate
myself

today.

Soak(ed)

couldn't sleep
ran

the tub
steam
rose

submersed
whole
body

and head
communed
with sound-

muted
under-
water world

muscles
melt (ed)
needed

air
periscope (d)
beak

lungs
filled
then fell

flipped
drain
open

with big toe
water-
line lowered

past ears
then
bent

knee left
naked
with

the realization
of weight.

About the author:
Brad Bisio has published fiction and poetry in Toyon, Penumbra, Innisfree and Paradigm, and has a story forthcoming in Pequin. He won the Advisor's Award for the story, "Still No One, but Returning Different" published in the Humboldt State University literary journal Toyon. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee.