Spoken Word Poetry

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.”
-Heraclitus, Greek philosopher dude who is super dead

Life is always changing and so are we.

Amidst all this change, art is just a snapshot of a particular man in a particular river. By the time the photos are developed (or even uploaded onto Instagram), that man and that river are gone.

Umm…what’s your point here?

Each poem on this website was written by a past version of Bruce in a past moment of time. I am constantly changing, growing, developing (and so are you, but this is MY website).

Depending on which poem you read, you could develop some radically different assumptions about who I am…and, honestly, that’s kinda terrifying. Maybe it’s because I’m an artist or maybe it’s because I’m a human, but I really don’t like being put in a box.

I am proud of who I am. I am thankful for the journey that has brought me here. And that’s ultimately what this is all about: Here. Now. This moment.

Heraclitus’ river quote helps me lower the stakes. Just like my older poems, the things I write today are simply snapshots. I don’t need to squeeze a lifetime of nuance into a five-minute poem. They are allowed to be partial and unbalanced, emotional and unfair.

And I am allowed to continue changing. My new poems are not commitments to carry a particular idea forever, but explorations of reality as I understand it in the moment. It’s okay – even good – for me to keep exploring, developing, becoming a new person.

If you stumbled your way here because of Grr Umbler and the Hunt for Happiness, welcome! Just a heads up that these poems are written with an adult audience in mind. I tend to be pretty wholesome, but occasionally I do swear or include mature content. Ye be warned!