https://vimeo.com/520042921 "As its poems tread through forests, over mountains, and along the water . . . Measures captivates." -- Clarion Reviews "[B. L. Bruce's] newest poetry collection, Measures, by turns elicits tenderness and melancholy, hopefulness and heartbreak--which is to say, the gamut of the human condition. . . . Bruce's collection offers many accomplished and memorable moments." -- BlueInk Review [...]
Tag: published poetry
“Cachagua Road” Published in Feral’s “Love” Issue

Cachagua Road From the low bridge over the river you spoke,blue lupines rising silently beneath the oaks,weighed with the damp of evening.Your words were carried away downstream,lost to me. I felt a sadness,heavy as stones.I listen—bending of waterover rocks, wind in the armsof the trees. I’ve learned the voicesof the robin, the towhee,thrasher—useless except forthe [...]
Poem “Dark Star” Published in Emerge Literary Journal’s Issue 16

DARK STAR I had not expected, mid-life,that already my shining yearswould be behind me, tradedfor more essential things:what it meansto have patience,to wage a war,how to endure. I remember clearer now:the smooth dunes,bare shoulders,my body feeling somehowless bound, belongingto me. You came outof the sea—salt on skin.In a particular way,your face openedbeneath the midday sky.Those [...]
Poems “The Leaving” and “Fragility,” First Published in The 2River View (Winter 2014)

Throwback to my two poems, "The Leaving" and "Fragility," which appear in my award-winning collection The Weight of Snow, first published in The 2River View. THE LEAVING By the heavy glass doors,you kneel to gather scattered clothes,your naked silhouette a shadowagainst the violet dawn.I know this shape your body makesagainst the sky. A leaf falls [...]
Fire and Rain: Ecopoetry of California

"A captivating and visceral portrait of the California landscape by a talented cast of poets.” - Kirkus Reviews Pleased to announce that two of my poems, "Feel" and "Tempest," were published in Fire and Rain: Ecopoetry of California poetry anthology from Scarlet Tanager Books. The collective contributions to this anthology come together to weave a braid of voices [...]
In Celebration of #PoetryMonth
2014 INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS FINALIST (POETRY CATEGORY) 2014 USA BEST BOOK AWARDS FINALIST (POETRY CATEGORY) 2014 SAN FRANCISCO BOOK FESTIVAL HONORABLE MENTION The poems in The Weight of Snow are heartfelt, skillfully written, and keenly observed fragments of the natural world and our lives there. Bravo. – Gary Young, Poet Laureate of Santa Cruz County, Pushcart Prize winning [...]
POETRY REVIEWERS WANTED for “The Starling’s Song” by B. L. Bruce
FREE eBook copy of award-winning author B. L. Bruce’s The Starling's Song (Black Swift Press, 2016) in exchange for an honest review! In a similar vein as her award-winning The Weight of Snow, Bruce’s newest collection of poetry explores the themes of love, loss, and nature, both human and not. Written in its entirety during a twenty-eight day stay in [...]
NEW POETRY: ‘The Starling’s Song’ from Award-winning Author B. L. Bruce
In a similar vein as her award-winning debut collection The Weight of Snow, Bruce’s newest compilation of poetry explores the themes of love, loss, and nature–both human and not. Written in its entirety during a twenty-eight day stay in a remote cabin in the forests of Northern California, B. L. Bruce’s chapbook, The Starling’s Song, affirms [...]
“Salt” Published in Common Ground Review’s Fall/Winter Anthology
Poem "Salt" included in Common Ground Review's Volume 12 issue 2, Fall/Winter 2015 Anthology. SALT There is a man at the far end of the garden, seated at a black wrought-iron table. Flecks of light move over his shoulders, passing between the narrow leaves of an olive tree. A gray cat waits nearby, shadowed [...]
“Clay” Included in Poems from Conflicted Hearts Anthology, Tayen Lane Publishing 2014
Along with six other works, the following poem titled "Clay" was accepted into Tayen Lane Publishing's Poems from Conflicted Hearts: An Anthology scheduled for release in March of 2014!CLAYI come knocking, find you in the garden looking not more than a child, eating the sweet petals of the guava blossoms,bending to sweep the stone pathway.You drift [...]