Author: Tamiko Lowery

“Mrs. Satterthwaite says

stolen plants always grow,

I stole some ‘Honesty’ yesterday,

it was to be burnt

in a heap of garden refuse!

I have had something

out of nearly every garden

in the village”

– Beatrix Potter

Endure

in the UK

there’s a guy

named

Alex Lewis

and if it weren’t for

Real Stories

making a documentary

on his life

people the world over

would never know

his story

the story of his life

and what it taught him

about himself

and those around him

he did not set out to be a teacher

no lofty degrees

or certifications

or such

and yet he is

a life instructor

for sure

TL

At Rest

following a line

of leaves

down a dusty lane

that turns around

the shoulder

and opens

at the bend

meadowland

like waves of wheat

that wash

against the sand

erasing all the steps

that trod

in puddles over time

wild are the flowers

that broke open

up the hill

setting in the sun

folding under moons

no one sees

the petals drop

then the wind

TL

By and By

in the realm

of reality

dust is dirt

that floats in air

and smoke is steam

that rises and goes no

where

and a single grain of sand

is just a speck

a drop of ocean

that fell

like a faraway star

this sense of somewhere

beyond mortal understanding

of time and place

we find ourselves

in the least of these

remembering moments

that bend

like the light

as the body ages

without sound

the inside stays

anew

centenarians the world over

concur

and have in their hearts

the same refrain

that you held

my hand

when it hurt

and let me cry

when the shadows fall

and the room goes dark

and you have to go it

a

l

o

n

e

journeying

way away from earth

from all earthly things

headed home

from whence

you were

evermore

TL

Limitless

last night

I sat at a table

for three

and was served

the best meal

I’ve ever ate

in my life

the chef is 14

and she is unafraid

of lengthy recipes

that require a certain level

of depth and detail

she is concise

and incredibly creative

in her thought process

and for years now

I’ve been fortunate

to dine at her table

without a reservation

and experience

one culinary creation

after another

but last night

was the first time

she ever prepared

a Korean dish

in the kitchen

she had quietly looked up recipes online

and asked me to take her to the Asian Market

and the grocery store

armed with her mask, her list and my debit card  

she marched out with her buggy full of ingredients

not normally on hand

and glanced at the time, pleased with herself

for she was already ticking off the time it would take

to prepare everything and plate the meals

by the time her daddy came home

and when it was finally time to sit down

at the table

I held the tears in check

and just sat there stunned

looking at all the dishes

and then looking at her

and then looking at all the dishes

and then looking at her

this was a meal that requires marinating

and blanching

and chopping

and measuring

and timing

and frying

and grilling

and steaming

and boiling

and certain spices

and sauces

and seasoning

the filling for the dumplings

had like 7 ingredients

and she pinched the edges like

she does a pie

and each dish could have stood alone

as a meal

I looked at the table

at these four main dishes

and two side dishes

and really didn’t know what to say

but … “wow”

just wow

the flavor was authentic

and the presentation was beautiful

and the feeling was overwhelming

she could quite literally open up her own restaurant

right now

already she’s cooked American, French, Italian, Mexican, Korean, etc.

and all manner of desserts and appetizers

I would gladly be her dishwasher

her taste tester

her server

her shopper

her chauffer

her investor

but she says this is jest a hobby of hers

something she enjoys

doing

I’m like … ok …

so, what’s for dinner?

TL

On the Surface

never once

did I consider

the surface

I’d just lace up

my shoes

and go

wherever I felt like flying

running was such a release

whatever I was holding in

or worried about

didn’t seem so heavy

after a run

but a knee injury

when you’re young

can catch up with you

when you’re old

so much so you can no longer walk

wherever you want

let alone run

you have to consider the surface

first

before you take off

and over time

you figure out what hurts

and what doesn’t

I know people who’d give anything

just to walk

let alone run

and I know people who have no excuse

not to walk

let alone run

but none of us understand this

but the bedridden

TL

“Play Smarter not Harder”

the blisters

still hurt on my hands

‘cause I don’t let up on the club

especially when I’m out there

chipping away

and ‘ya get in this rhythm

where they fall just right

and ‘ya don’t wanna let up

on the grip

and if it’s 90 degrees

the palms get sweaty

and slip

and the grip gets tighter

and tighter

which is why

the blisters still hurt

on my hands

gloves would be useful

yeah

but ‘ya lose the feel with gloves

at least for me anyway

so I reach for the box of Band-Aids

instead

maybe someday

I’ll let up on the hold

‘cause I’ve cut the circulation off

or maybe I’ll jest learn how

to trust my club

wouldn’t that be so much easier

yeah, no

TL

Daffodils

they don’t

teach ‘ya how

to be strong

there’s no syllabus

for that

no coursework

no class

they teach ‘ya the basics

of math

English

science

history

and ‘ya sit there

taking tests

hoping to make

the grade

and this process

takes 12 years

elementary

middle school

high school

and then you graduate

and go out into the world

with your lessons

and you enroll in Life 101

and at first it seems so

simple

nothing to it

but life’s not like that

at all

it’s complicated

it can be beautiful one second

and ugly the next

divorce is messy

nobody wins

accidental death is messy

addiction is messy

losing someone you love is messy

watching a loved one die is very messy

job loss

getting sick with something

abusive relationships

homelessness

natural and unnatural disasters

isolation

suicide

obesity

hoarding

emotional trauma

physical abuse

abandonment

it can get messy

quick

and that’s the short list

humans go through transformation

from the moment of birth

to the hour of death

externally and internally

we change form

like the seasons

like springtime

sleeping beneath the snow

dreaming of daffodils

we appear

and then disappear

but we were here

and it was messy

and it was beautiful

and it was worth it

to love

and be loved

TL

Emily Dickinson Poem:

“If I Should Die”

“And if I go, while you’re still here …

Know that I live on,

Vibrating to a different measure

Behind a thin veil you cannot see through.

You will not see me,

So you must have faith.

I wait for the time when we can soar

Together again,

Both aware of each other.

Until then, live your life to the fullest

And when you need me,

Just whisper my name in your heart,

… I will be there.”

(for Josey Dorsey, 4)

Songbird

“for you, there’ll be no more crying
for you, the sun will be shining

‘cause I feel that when I’m with you,
it’s all right, I know it’s right

and the songbirds keep singing

like they know the score
and I love you, I love you, I love you

like never before

to you, I would give the world
to you, I’d never be cold
’cause I feel that when I’m with you,
it’s all right, I know it’s right

and the songbirds keep singing like they know the score
and I love you, I love you, I love you

like never before, like never before, like never before

and I wish you all the love in the world
but most of all, I wish it from myself

and the songbirds keep singing

like they knew the score
and I love you, I love you, I love you
like never before, like never before, like never before … ”

(Songbird written by Christine Mcvie and performed by Eva Cassidy

and covered by Naya Rivera)

On a Sunday

the beautiful

Kelly Preston

has drifted away

TL

Henry van Dyke Poem: Reliance

“Not to the swift, the race:

Not to the strong, the fight:

Not to the righteous, perfect grace:

Not to the wise, the light.

But often faltering feet

Come surest to the goal;

And they who walk in darkness meet

The sunrise of the soul.

The truth the wise men sought

Was spoken by a child;

The alabaster box was brought

In trembling hands defiled.

Not from my torch, the gleam,

But from the stars above:

Not from my heart, life’s crystal stream,

But from the depths

Of love.”

Patricia Alatorre

your family

will have to be

strong for you

for the rest of their lives

they have no choice

your story cannot end

like that

there are countless

children

boys and girls

out there

counting on you

to be

their guardian

Angel

TL

Some Days

it rained

so hard

overnight

the ants

took refuge

in my car

and told all

their friends

TL

The Fourth of July

last night

a kaleidoscope

in the sky

turning over

patterned pieces

of colored glass

opening and closing

a fleeting design

mirroring memory

of a phase of life

twirling and whirling

breathtaking

and free

the possibilities

of something

bigger and brighter

more beautiful than before

and you wait for it

this closing encore

this last hurrah!

before the curtain closes

and everybody, everywhere

goes home

and you ask yourself

in the dark

was that it?

is it already over?

like a blink

TL

“America the Beautiful”

was at first a poem

written by Katharine Lee Bates in 1893

and published two years later

the poem was put to music in 1910

and the rest is history …

“O beautiful for spacious skies

for amber waves of grain

for purple mountain majesties

above thy fruited plain

America, America

God shed His grace on thee

and crown thy good with brotherhood

from sea to shining sea

O beautiful for pilgrim feet

whose stern, impassioned stress

a thoroughfare for freedom beat

across the wilderness

America, America

God mend thine every flaw

confirm thy soul in self-control

thy liberty in law

O beautiful for heroes proved

in liberating strife

who more than self their country loved

and mercy more than life

America, America

may God thy gold refine

‘til all success be nobleness

and every gain divine

O beautiful for patriot dream

that sees beyond the years

thine alabaster cities gleam

undimmed by human tears

America, America

God shed His grace on thee

and crown thy good with brotherhood

from sea to shining sea

O beautiful for spacious skies

for amber waves of grain

for purple mountain majesties

above thy fruited plain

America, America

God shed His grace on thee

and crown thy good with brotherhood

from sea to shining sea …”

Umami

unbeaten

by the rain

he makes his way

in the dark

and turns the lock

and flips the lights

and heads to the back

where hours of preparation

meet the discipline of the mind

each day an empty bowl

he fills

for the ramen lovers

like me

who thought it came out of a package

with powdered packs and a crunchy square

and you could go your whole life long

thinking that …

‘til one day

in the rain

you happen upon a new place

to try

and you venture in

side

and sit down at his table

and order ramen

off the menu

expecting just another bowl

of soup

until they bring it out

steaming

this work of art

and you taste that first sip

of broth

unlike anything

and these noodles

are far from square

this bowl of ramen

is like a great book

that fills all the senses

and makes you forget

where you are

TL

“Wind in the Willows”

sidestepping

tee tiny toads

on the trail

as they try to make it

on their own

and if I could talk to them

I’d tell ‘em to get off the trail

and hop to the trees

the underbrush

far from the joggers

the dogs

the crunch of wheels

but I can’t talk to toads

so, I wish ‘em well

and hope they’ll make it

on their own

like that one I saw by the pond

sitting in the mud

staring at the turtles

warm in the sun

it was the biggest toad

I ever saw

snapped a picture

and headed to the trail

TL

Hush

quiet

in the clouds

as a Cessna bird

wings away

quiet

in the ocean

at the bottom

of the sea

quiet

after the storm

when thunder

and lightning

crash to sleep

quiet

early in the morning

after a night

of rest

quiet

in the car

after the door shuts

and the funeral’s over

quiet

in the recesses

of the mind

after it empties out

like the sky

releasing rain

TL

Archie Williams

he walked out

on to the stage

dressed to the nines

with an open smile

and an easy way

about him

but when the AGT judges

asked him to talk a bit about himself

his story shattered

that initial impression

of carefree

he was 22

when his world went dark

convicted of a horrible crime

he did not commit

nearly 37 years went by

as he sat there in a cold, hard cell

forgotten

waiting for somebody somewhere

to run his fingerprints

against the national database

and after nearly 37 years

somebody somewhere

finally did

and while he’ll never ever get back

the time he lost

he never wasted any of it

on what might have been

but on what could be

instead of getting weaker

year after year

behind bars

he got stronger

and stronger

and stronger

he never gave up

on himself

and his dreams

at 59

he walked out

on to the stage

dressed to the nines

a free man

and sang …

“don’t let the sun

go down on me”

TL