dust and conscience by Truong Tran

dust and conscience by Truong Tran is an intriguing book filled with short prose poems. The poems have no titles, punctuation, or capitalization, and therefore give you little direction on phrasing, which leaves the reader a little off-kilter during the reading. Tran uses this beautifully—it’s exactly the right form for what he’s conveying in the poems, and the feelings expressed. These are strange nuggets. Glorious strange nuggets. Buy here.

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she sits in her new car she listens to the cd she is reminded of home she is overwhelmed with sadness she is parked in her garage she is reminded of home

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enter the ghost of my father dressed in a hawaiian patterned short sleeved shirt bermuda shorts a straw brimmed hat i’m leaving he says but before i go i leave you with a bit of advice don’t lose it he tells me don’t lose it in translation well i’m off he says i’ve got weeds to pull in those clouds