Three “Rest Houses”

Brandon Shimoda

Rest HouseI stayed long in the shadow of the deadonly after I left,was goneto a place where the dead could beseen strollinga tight circle,preparingfor the phase of being dead that ischaracterized by reappearance.was there,the shell of your eggRest HouseA scattered peacelike netsthe old woman gathering rose-tasteto marryto ice creamAll around us, the breezecorpsesoverlappingto be welcomedto be giventhe refreshmentthat might stun [them]back intoexistence.Rest HouseThe woman in ground zerolays down in the grasslooks upinto the treesat the monochrome shapesof astrological hospiceThey’re not dead yetshe saysThe trees look downunapprovinglyAre there tiny balloons in the sky?People preparing to leap throughthe bottomlessbrainof their delicate wishes?nor will they lastlong enoughEvery time I see you    you arein the grassor behind small glassreaching into the freezertoward a warm body

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photo of Brandon Shimoda
Photo:
Scott Tsuchitani

Brandon Shimoda is the author of several books of poetry and prose, most recently Hydra Medusa (Nightboat Books, 2023), and The Afterlife Is Letting Go (City Lights, 2024). He’s the co-editor, with Brynn Saito, of an anthology of poetry on Nikkei wartime incarceration written by descendants of the WWII prisons and camps (Haymarket Books, 2025).

cover of Issue 11 of the Changes Review

Issue 11

New York City, New York

Editors:
Bennet Bergman
Kyle Dacuyan
Kay Gabriel
Isabel Boutiette.

“As Variously As Possible”

Changes is a new independent publisher based in New York City. The press is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All donations & proceeds go to supporting the press and its charitable programs, such as the Changes Book Prize.

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