JAMES HOUSTON ARTS

  • DEATH and TAXONOMIES

    There is thatWhat one can nail downCogs and suchWhat one can meshMitres, joints and adherencesFirmly terra firmaLife in a viceBums in seatsDone deals, no failsWhat one can takeConfidentlyTo the bank In truth, thoughThe worldIs a fleeting thing © jameshoustonarts 2026

    JAMES HOUSTON

  • 04/14/14

    ThreeIn this diner-cum-barNot including meBecause I never doEven when it’s my storyAnd, it’s alwaysMy story OneMy wife, my palSipping awayAt one of the twoFreebie beersListening to songsHeard on repeat TwoAt the otherwiseEmpty barBacks to the stageDraining their pintsMolson’s CanadianIn separate silences NoneOf this reallyAwful memory mattersMuch anymoreApril 14, 2014The settled, finalPublic performance NullAnd distinctly voidedSlocan…

    JAMES HOUSTON

  • YESTERDAYS (Not Even) NEWS

    Yesterday, I stoppedPosting social mediaToday, I am not © jameshoustonarts 2026 I am certainly not alone in eschewing the rank files of social media. Though I never did twitter, I carved out a piece of my space and frog-leapt that platform to book face and “gram” instantaneously. When all that innocence of luminiferous ether began,…

    JAMES HOUSTON

  • SELF-INFLICTED

    If you took meI would be ungratefulBalking at each turnFinding insipid reasonsTo lag behind Had you assignedThe requirementsI should certainly findTime for otherwiseOf and on my own Not to be consignedAs a contrary soulMerely withinBut not withoutSelf-inflicted instruction © jameshoustonarts 2026

    JAMES HOUSTON

  • PRESSURE

    Bend. succeed, resignConform, work, abandonSpend, marry, dressAttend, accept, concedeRepent, end, denyConsume, kill, drinkSign, withdraw, reviveConclude, eschew, abdicateApply, act, quitPerform, demure, leaveIgnore, join, subscribeContribute, collude, containEarn, win, obliterateAcquiesce, refuse, finishConfess, erase, recantDecide, persuade, beDo, believe, change © jameshoustonarts 2026

    JAMES HOUSTON

  • WAITING

    Endlessly waitingUpon wingless doves bringingBroken branches home © jameshoustonarts 2026

    JAMES HOUSTON

  • ANATOMY of a JARANA

    Hernán Cortés landed in what is now Veracruz, México in February 1519 igniting, in addition to wars, indoctrination, pestilence and such, an immigration wave into that part of the Americas. This resulted in the introduction to the indigenous Nahuatl people stringed instruments such as the vihuela and baroque guitar, adapted and adopted into the folk-poetry…

    JAMES HOUSTON

  • HOW FAR AWAY IS AWAY

    Do I wish I still had itThat old Martin D-18How far away is awayAnd just how long has it been Do I still hear it ringDoes it still strike a chordIs it in someones’ handsIs it still as adored As when I once played itAdmired the grain in its woodDoes it make someone feelDoes it…

    JAMES HOUSTON

  • IS THIS WHAT WATER IS?

    At the end of its reachApex of leafThe slow sudden releaseFrom the point of a whorlA translucent pearlGift to the world Sheening the skinRising withinOn needles and pinsCombing all fearOf the doubting believerThe sweating veneer A sail catches windBoth the means and the endHow a journey beginsOne wave at a timeOne prow through the brineA…

    JAMES HOUSTON

  • PENPAL LETTERS

    PENPAL LETTERS You have to have oneTo write oneYou have to write oneTo have one A fountain pen rulesBallpoint sufficesGraphite, finger paint, crayonFelt-tipped markerCalligraphy, typewriterInk pads & letter stampsScrapbooking, graphic artMagazine & newspaper clippingsAdhered like old movie ransom notesFair game, all Affix a stampAnd walk itTo the corner boxIt’s worth the paperYou printed it onAnd…

    JAMES HOUSTON