JAMES HOUSTON ARTS

  • 1 IMAGE = 1 POEM/1 SONG

    ONE IMAGE: ONE POEM: FOR THE LOVE OF A BOOK He discarded himselfAll that he possessedAll of the for-granteds That had been takenAnd all the chancesThat he took Strewn on the sidewalkRipped from carry-allsIn profanities he ranted Until he came upon itThat for which he searchedThe love of a book © jameshoustonarts 2023 ONE SONG:…

    JAMES HOUSTON

  • I FORGOT TO BOMB DRESDEN

    I forgot to bomb DresdenForgot to learn my sumsA slide rule meantI could skip outOn a day of KindergartenFrom time to timeOn a fine days’ permissionsIf it suited meTo let the rule slide I forgot to bomb DresdenForgot to acquiesceWhen I madeMy own musicChose my skinCeased attending churchWent my own wayTook up guitarThrew the old…

    JAMES HOUSTON

  • LENDING LIBRARY

    If you were blindfoldedAnd led silentlyInto a lending libraryWould there beAny sense of Doubt Among the sundry myriadSenses that would igniteIn such circumstanceKnowing exactlyWhere you now were Lest you be anosmicWould not olfactory giftsBe heightened Raging In factWith all that print glueBoard and binding threadPerhaps a hint a whispOf old leatherRubbed to a shineBy eager…

    JAMES HOUSTON

  • BEFORE THIS

    I’ve been brokenBefore thisWandering the seas in meWashed up uponMy own shoresSand-time and saltIn my eyes, in my earsIn open woundsIn anything I forgotTo closeI’ll not be broken again I’ve been ignored a time or twoBefore thisA haint in the hallwayShying from entrancesSpoken sentencesMaking appearanceThe cut of my formWaiting, alwaysWaitingFor an invitationI’ll not be veiled…

    JAMES HOUSTON

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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