Poetry by Russ Van Rooy

Buddhas of Bamiyan

Oh Buddhas of Bamiyan,
You are broken to dust.
Your grottos empty, 
your limbs battered,
broken.
You feel no sorrow.
You do not exist in this world.

Oh Buddhas of Bamiyan,
You gazed unflinching 
while humans fought over
crumbs of land, over drops of water.
over bankrupt ideas of what is,
and of what is not moral.

Oh Buddhas of Bamiyan,
have pity and compassion on us,
the human insects who destroy,
the murderous scoundrels who
scar the land, and take life without a
thought.

​Om mani padme hum.




Someone really hurt you when you were young

You know, man.
I don't want to upset you.
I do back flips just to avoid 
Your ire.
Someone really hurt you
When you were young
And now everyone who has the
Misfortune of crossing your path 
Does like me: make ourselves small
And unthreatening,
Just so you can indulge in the fantasy 
That you are powerful, dominating, 
In control. 
But guess what?
You are just a bullying snowflake. 
You are afraid of
Having feelings.
Someone really hurt you
when you were young.
And now, you are as powerful as you will ever be:
Someone with really very little. 
Someone without friends, 
Without lovers, 
Without true respect. 
You might even indulge in the fantasy that
You are happy. 
You could not be farther from happiness. 
Someone really hurt you when you were young. 
And it's not my job to take your shit.

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Bio: Russ Van Rooy is a guitarist/songwriter software tester armchair philosopher and cosmologist who likes to write poetry. When not contemplating what conditions were like during the first five hundred million years, Russ can be found making pancakes or playing music. Russ has been published by Creative Colloquy and by Oddball Magazine.