Vox Populi
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Julie Bruck: Two Poems
Possessives
A friend I’ve known since childhood
speaks securely of his ownership—
My house, my wine, my road.
When I place myself among others—
Our coffee joint, our library—these small
“c” collectives are hardly the activism
of a younger friend, who fights
to help others maintain what’s theirs.
Mine owns. Ours rents. Theirs loses
everything. Whose earth is this?
It’s borrowed, leases are revocable,
minute to minute. Just ask the man
on a rooftop in Gaza, wordlessly
panning 360 degrees with his phone—
only wreckage as far as it sees, and that
awful flapping sound the wind makes
through a mic when there’s nothing
left to block it.
~~~
Wolves Once
Even on days of wildfire light, we go about our business
unless warned to stay in, luring our dogs with treats.
Come! Sit! Stay! They follow us anywhere, glance up
and up, in case a snack is imminent, scan our expressions,
since the treat is always held by two fingers in front
of a human face, a gesture compelling eye contact.
Look! Sit! Get! They twist with anxiety over each
snippet of pressed protein, waiting for for the green
light, grinding their tender bottoms into the concrete,
trying so hard to be good, to please, oh please, for that biscuit.
A treat for the sit. Treat to come. Treat for shit on schedule.
It should shame us to bend, break them, make them predictable.
I used to watch my childhood dog dream he was running.
Now, dogs are on hold, beholden, worried beyond their species.
Not us. Even on days of smoke and wildfire light, we refuse.
There’s no cookie big enough to make us do otherwise.
~~~~
JULIE BRUCK is a Canadian writer, editor and teacher in San Francisco. She is putting the finishing touches on the manuscript of her fifth poetry collection, whose working title is We Love You, Get Up.
Poems copyright 2025 Julie Bruck
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Brilliant!
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I was trying to send a comment but getting no response 🙂
What I wanted to say is that those last three lines of Possessions is one of the most visceral, chilling descriptions of the wreckage in Gaza I have encountered – that awful flapping sound the wind makes / through a mic when there’s nothing / left to block it.
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Thanks, Jan. It is a chilling image.
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What special poems, especially the first. I keep finding myself reading and rereading it.
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Me too, Mandy. I like the conversational style, making the metaphoric turns even more surprising.
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A new poet to savor. Both the poems make enchantment out of everyday moves. Not enchantment with a sense of innocence preserved, but a deeper way of looking at this intricate mazeway of a world.
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Oh my, these poems!!! I have long admired Julie’s work — she truly blows me away with these two very moving gems.
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Thank you, Meg.I love Julie’s work as well!
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Wow! Great work. May have to buy another book.
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Thanks, Leo. I like Julie’s direct language and practical subjects.
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