Stephen Kuusisto
@stevekuusisto.bsky.social
Poet, memoirist, disability activist, and dog lover. Travels and lectures widely on literature and human rights.
Lullaby of Birdland
Nothing new can be said about grief
Best to converse with the walls
In a low gibberish
Then put Erroll Garner on the stereo
Scratchy old record
Scratchy old soul
Nothing new can be said about grief
Best to converse with the walls
In a low gibberish
Then put Erroll Garner on the stereo
Scratchy old record
Scratchy old soul
November 10, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Lullaby of Birdland
Nothing new can be said about grief
Best to converse with the walls
In a low gibberish
Then put Erroll Garner on the stereo
Scratchy old record
Scratchy old soul
Nothing new can be said about grief
Best to converse with the walls
In a low gibberish
Then put Erroll Garner on the stereo
Scratchy old record
Scratchy old soul
I graduated from Cardio Rehab this morning!
November 3, 2025 at 3:33 PM
I graduated from Cardio Rehab this morning!
Books gone yellow
& the fervid dark coming in…
& night spurring its black flanks pierced with stars.
& the fervid dark coming in…
& night spurring its black flanks pierced with stars.
September 26, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Books gone yellow
& the fervid dark coming in…
& night spurring its black flanks pierced with stars.
& the fervid dark coming in…
& night spurring its black flanks pierced with stars.
I’m pissed off. Black women being pilloried. Children denied health care. Environmental destruction. Books being banned. In Florida they’ve even banned the dictionary. Pulling funding from medical research. False narratives about the radical left. I just want to climb on the roof and scream.
September 25, 2025 at 2:53 PM
I’m pissed off. Black women being pilloried. Children denied health care. Environmental destruction. Books being banned. In Florida they’ve even banned the dictionary. Pulling funding from medical research. False narratives about the radical left. I just want to climb on the roof and scream.
Trump: "I'm a big boy now!" Princess Kate: "I can smell your nappy!"
September 23, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Trump: "I'm a big boy now!" Princess Kate: "I can smell your nappy!"
Yeats never talked about his dogs
He preferred his ghosts
A bit like Strindberg he was
But here’s the thing
Strindberg’s dogs
Barked when the dead
Rang his doorbell
There’s a principle here
I confess to not knowing
What it is
He preferred his ghosts
A bit like Strindberg he was
But here’s the thing
Strindberg’s dogs
Barked when the dead
Rang his doorbell
There’s a principle here
I confess to not knowing
What it is
September 22, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Yeats never talked about his dogs
He preferred his ghosts
A bit like Strindberg he was
But here’s the thing
Strindberg’s dogs
Barked when the dead
Rang his doorbell
There’s a principle here
I confess to not knowing
What it is
He preferred his ghosts
A bit like Strindberg he was
But here’s the thing
Strindberg’s dogs
Barked when the dead
Rang his doorbell
There’s a principle here
I confess to not knowing
What it is
“Don’t be lonely,” says the brain
Which is tangled in bad wiring
And sends the boy
To hide behind the shed
Which is tangled in bad wiring
And sends the boy
To hide behind the shed
September 11, 2025 at 12:07 PM
“Don’t be lonely,” says the brain
Which is tangled in bad wiring
And sends the boy
To hide behind the shed
Which is tangled in bad wiring
And sends the boy
To hide behind the shed
Planet on a Tray
To be blessed as before a meal
But always waiting for the fork attack
—Jarkko Laine
Translated from the Finnish by Stephen Kuusisto
To be blessed as before a meal
But always waiting for the fork attack
—Jarkko Laine
Translated from the Finnish by Stephen Kuusisto
September 10, 2025 at 11:13 PM
Planet on a Tray
To be blessed as before a meal
But always waiting for the fork attack
—Jarkko Laine
Translated from the Finnish by Stephen Kuusisto
To be blessed as before a meal
But always waiting for the fork attack
—Jarkko Laine
Translated from the Finnish by Stephen Kuusisto
It was good, I saw, to have a secret. Let the other kids with their baseball gloves and bats have at it. I had Pagliacci.
September 8, 2025 at 11:42 AM
It was good, I saw, to have a secret. Let the other kids with their baseball gloves and bats have at it. I had Pagliacci.
It’s like Dante, everyone
Up to his or her neck
In a self loathing stew
And down at the peace and harmony shop
They’re eating butterfly wings…
Up to his or her neck
In a self loathing stew
And down at the peace and harmony shop
They’re eating butterfly wings…
September 8, 2025 at 11:27 AM
It’s like Dante, everyone
Up to his or her neck
In a self loathing stew
And down at the peace and harmony shop
They’re eating butterfly wings…
Up to his or her neck
In a self loathing stew
And down at the peace and harmony shop
They’re eating butterfly wings…
As autumn comes
Mushroom houses
Switch on their lights
Science
Confirms this
Its the electrochemistry
Of expected
Darkness
Mushroom houses
Switch on their lights
Science
Confirms this
Its the electrochemistry
Of expected
Darkness
August 28, 2025 at 11:26 AM
As autumn comes
Mushroom houses
Switch on their lights
Science
Confirms this
Its the electrochemistry
Of expected
Darkness
Mushroom houses
Switch on their lights
Science
Confirms this
Its the electrochemistry
Of expected
Darkness
Summer Minute
Hello cemetery willow
Kind regards friend
Let’s together read a book
Don’t worry
It’s The Kalevala
With wizards—
A fine way to live
Pages, wind, branches
No explanation necessary
All gifted with desires
Hello cemetery willow
Kind regards friend
Let’s together read a book
Don’t worry
It’s The Kalevala
With wizards—
A fine way to live
Pages, wind, branches
No explanation necessary
All gifted with desires
July 20, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Summer Minute
Hello cemetery willow
Kind regards friend
Let’s together read a book
Don’t worry
It’s The Kalevala
With wizards—
A fine way to live
Pages, wind, branches
No explanation necessary
All gifted with desires
Hello cemetery willow
Kind regards friend
Let’s together read a book
Don’t worry
It’s The Kalevala
With wizards—
A fine way to live
Pages, wind, branches
No explanation necessary
All gifted with desires
More About Life in America
There are barbarians behind the trees
But then there are the ones
In the parking lot
And what can you do, really
I play a game in my head
Called “Shrug Away the Barbarians”
Black feathers evolving inside me
There are barbarians behind the trees
But then there are the ones
In the parking lot
And what can you do, really
I play a game in my head
Called “Shrug Away the Barbarians”
Black feathers evolving inside me
July 19, 2025 at 10:53 AM
More About Life in America
There are barbarians behind the trees
But then there are the ones
In the parking lot
And what can you do, really
I play a game in my head
Called “Shrug Away the Barbarians”
Black feathers evolving inside me
There are barbarians behind the trees
But then there are the ones
In the parking lot
And what can you do, really
I play a game in my head
Called “Shrug Away the Barbarians”
Black feathers evolving inside me
Let me begin with a small thing:
I don’t like cruelty
And please don’t be confused
Nature’s a series of mistakes
Every human body is a rented room
I love you
Whether you’ve paid the landlord or not
I don’t like cruelty
And please don’t be confused
Nature’s a series of mistakes
Every human body is a rented room
I love you
Whether you’ve paid the landlord or not
July 17, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Let me begin with a small thing:
I don’t like cruelty
And please don’t be confused
Nature’s a series of mistakes
Every human body is a rented room
I love you
Whether you’ve paid the landlord or not
I don’t like cruelty
And please don’t be confused
Nature’s a series of mistakes
Every human body is a rented room
I love you
Whether you’ve paid the landlord or not
Photo caption contest. I think Mr. Turtle is saying to Susan Collins, "that fart had a lump in it..." C'mon send me your best!
July 17, 2025 at 10:52 AM
Photo caption contest. I think Mr. Turtle is saying to Susan Collins, "that fart had a lump in it..." C'mon send me your best!
They electrocuted “Topsy the Elephant” on Coney Island. Mister Edison’s men were on hand to catch the spectacle on film. 1903. America. You can watch the footage on Wikipedia. Topsy, chained, her feet in copper sandals, her belly full of poisoned carrots It’s fun being American. Fun to be modern.
July 10, 2025 at 4:54 PM
They electrocuted “Topsy the Elephant” on Coney Island. Mister Edison’s men were on hand to catch the spectacle on film. 1903. America. You can watch the footage on Wikipedia. Topsy, chained, her feet in copper sandals, her belly full of poisoned carrots It’s fun being American. Fun to be modern.
No Name for It
I almost died last month
When I woke from the surgery
I saw a bear outside my door
Now only the crickets can be heard
Night is a slick beauty so quiet
Currently I’m thinking
The first makers of papyrus
Chewed the reeds
And swallowed a mouthful
In the process
I almost died last month
When I woke from the surgery
I saw a bear outside my door
Now only the crickets can be heard
Night is a slick beauty so quiet
Currently I’m thinking
The first makers of papyrus
Chewed the reeds
And swallowed a mouthful
In the process
July 9, 2025 at 11:47 AM
No Name for It
I almost died last month
When I woke from the surgery
I saw a bear outside my door
Now only the crickets can be heard
Night is a slick beauty so quiet
Currently I’m thinking
The first makers of papyrus
Chewed the reeds
And swallowed a mouthful
In the process
I almost died last month
When I woke from the surgery
I saw a bear outside my door
Now only the crickets can be heard
Night is a slick beauty so quiet
Currently I’m thinking
The first makers of papyrus
Chewed the reeds
And swallowed a mouthful
In the process
July 8, 2025 at 1:50 PM
I've been a lefty Episcopalian for years. I want to forgive my enemies. Even as they aim to harm me. Even as they plan to eliminate disabled people like me. But today I realized that's Jesus's job. I'm going to kick some ass.
July 6, 2025 at 11:48 AM
I've been a lefty Episcopalian for years. I want to forgive my enemies. Even as they aim to harm me. Even as they plan to eliminate disabled people like me. But today I realized that's Jesus's job. I'm going to kick some ass.
I've listened to the pundits talking about the Supreme Court and they've all missed the point: the court's majority is made up of Christo-fascists who are filled with hate. And they look up to their golden idol. Simple. It's not a court anymore.
June 29, 2025 at 12:35 PM
I've listened to the pundits talking about the Supreme Court and they've all missed the point: the court's majority is made up of Christo-fascists who are filled with hate. And they look up to their golden idol. Simple. It's not a court anymore.
Military skulduggery depends on fairy tales. Nazis are particularly easy to mislead with quasi-occult nonsense. I believe Trump’s decision to bomb Iran was driven by the ouija board, which, by the way, informs most of Netanyahu’s decision making. These are not rational men.
June 22, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Military skulduggery depends on fairy tales. Nazis are particularly easy to mislead with quasi-occult nonsense. I believe Trump’s decision to bomb Iran was driven by the ouija board, which, by the way, informs most of Netanyahu’s decision making. These are not rational men.
My new collection of poems is now out from Copper Canyon Press:
April 4, 2025 at 5:13 PM
My new collection of poems is now out from Copper Canyon Press:
Here I am, speaking last night at my undergraduate alma mater, #hobartcollege
April 2, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Here I am, speaking last night at my undergraduate alma mater, #hobartcollege
I love this dog. Bernedoodle Theo with his stuffed hedgehog.
February 3, 2025 at 8:46 PM
I love this dog. Bernedoodle Theo with his stuffed hedgehog.
The blind detective.
January 30, 2025 at 3:39 PM
The blind detective.