Author: Tamiko Lowery

Tumultuous

the sea

was not calm

as last it gently lapped

against the sand

an internal storm

had seized and taken hold

the land

the rise of turmoil

in the wind

lashed the sailboats

to the harbor

and scattered lingering gulls

kited in the sky

the clouds had dropped into the sea

with strings attached

that made them dance

in a frenzy

that woke up all the waves

thus the rise and fall

of castles

in a storybook

yesterday

TL

Sand Dollars

there’s money

in my pocket

that I don’t spend

in vain

I just keep it

invested

for it has a good return

and when I can

I’ll add to it

in waves

TL

Room at the Table

there’s a photo

of a little girl

in a pink shirt

holding a clear bag

that holds all her

worldly possessions

and she’s hugging it

close to her chest

one hand over the other

as if it were

a stuffed animal

or a blanket

and she has this look

on her face

so calm, so strong, so quiet, so sad

and all around her

is complete chaos

and uncertainty

she’s an immigrant

who was born into

uncontrollable circumstances

her eyes are old eyes

in a small face

she hasn’t a home

to go back to

or one to go to

now

she’s caught in a struggle

of power, money, greed, hatred

and she has no power

no money

no greed

no hatred

she just knows she can’t go home

and she’s got no home

and nothing makes sense

in her head

she sees people crying

and yelling

and fighting

and hurting

and she’s standing

in the middle of it

still as a statue

not crying

not yelling

not fighting

she stands there

frozen

in her pink shirt

hugging her bag

to her chest

with hurt in her eyes

completely helpless

in a mess

she didn’t make

and I pray for her

I pray she knows

in her little heart

there is a God

who never forsakes

who hears her

who sees her

who feels her

who will give her the strength

to endure

“I know what it is to be in need,

and I know what it is to have plenty.

I have learned the secret of being content

in any and every situation, whether well fed

or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

I can do all this through Him who gives

me strength.”

– Philippians 4:12-13

TL

W o R d S

when a child

first learns to speak

a word

and then another

and another

and another

forming sentences

that turn into talk

talking on paper

like the books with the pictures

that rhyme

and sing

and repeat

the small words

become big

and the big words

become small

A-Z

big letters

and little letters

they all look different but mean the same thing

sound the same way

and it’s funny how

all the words

they first learn

to say

to write

to read

are all good ones

all good words

there are no bad words

in the A-Z

they have no idea

bad words exist

until one day

they learn

that words have meaning

behind them

and that some can hurt your feelings

and make you cry

while others can make you laugh

and feel love

the tone, the volume, the intent

the way words are strung together

in a line

spoken or written or heard

are interpreted

and taken in

but in the alphabet of first words

there are no bad words

in any of the stories or songs or poems or prayers

the words are all good

there are no bad words

except maybe the word:

no

TL

Transformative

in sports

they say

you never learn much

from winning

but you learn much

from losing

when you win

you feel invincible

when you lose

you feel vulnerable

invincible is harder to teach

vulnerable is ready to learn

when someone you love dearly dies

you feel loss in the deepest way there is to lose

not only did you lose that person

but you lost the way they loved you

not to say you won’t feel love again

but that it won’t be the same

how can it be

why would you want it to be

the way they loved you

mattered

the way you loved them

mattered

TL

Goblet of Gold

the sun

is lightening the leaves

a softer green

on a trail

lined with towering trees

you feel small

as you look up

and a little lost

as you look down

for the trail is so long

and weary

and you’re already tired

from your travels

yet faced with the choice

you don’t turn around

or sit down

you choose to go forward

to keep going

to keep moving

taking steps

all the small ones add up

as you look around

the mud turns meadow

the rough terrain

evens out

into a gentle slope

the steep incline

flattens out

into a clearing

you can hear the water

f

a

l

l

i

n

g

and rushing over rocks

spilling over

into pooling ponds

forming fountains

that ripple out

in all direction

you take your cup

and dip it down

into the well

and bring it back up

and pass it

round

TL

Blank Pages

when rife

with the stress

of daily life

don’t dismiss it

as it is

and keep pushing

past the point

there has to be stops

breaks

where you get off the train

the bus, the plane

not for vacation

or holiday

but to return

to a place

inside yourself

before

you ever got on the train

the bus, the plane

before there was somewhere

you had to be

had to go

for what you forgo

is always there

on hold

like a bookmark

in a book

understanding your story

is not in the summary

or skipping pages

chapters

the whole thing

you have to really read

so, you can write

new pages

new chapters

a good ending

TL

In the Realm

if you build

castle walls

don’t forget

the openings

to let in the light

and the air

TL

“Yellow Brick Road”

she throws

emeralds

in the air

and I spend

the rest of my life

in search

discovering new facets

in each one

I find

TL

In the Ring

when a fighter

is down

on the ground

all messed up

and bruised and bleeding

and the crowd is roaring

and the cameras are flashing

and the bright lights are blinding

and they’ve already wrote the headline

none of it matters

the fighter hears nothing

the fighter sees nothing

the fighter thinks nothing

there is nothing

no past

no future

only a pulse

the breath

rhythm and repetition

conscious and unconscious

like being underwater

the fighter becomes water

fluid

like a drop of rain

in the river

that cascades over the waterfall

and crashes down

into the deep

in total emersion

the energy dispersed

it evens out

in all directions

of space and time

there is no battle

to be

the fighter becomes

one

TL

On the Road to Where

in the great

classroom of life

we are all teachers

for we are all students

first

you do not have to have a college degree

to be a teacher

in the great

classroom of life

but you do have to be a student

always

and what you teach others

does not necessarily take semesters or quarters

or lifetimes to learn

a gesture takes but a moment

an extraordinary moment

in an ordinary day

is happening

right now

to each student

all around the world

in all stages of life

beginning or ending

we learn something new

something we didn’t know

until we lived it

‘til we felt it

the lessons are all different

and come in all forms

shapes and sizes

but no matter the form

the shape or the size

the lessons are connected

somehow

there are hard ones

and easy ones

there are painful ones

and joyful ones

there are surface ones

and deeper ones

there are strong ones

and weak ones

each person you meet

each experience you go through

teaches you something

you didn’t know

that you needed to know

from the moment of our birth

to the moment of our death

there is something

always something

more to learn

more to teach

more to understand

TL

Baby Steps

there’s a broken

turtle shell

on my desk

the insides got

destroyed

after somebody ran it

over

and kept on going

as if nothing

horrible

had just happened

to it

TL

On Repeat

some songs

are pure poetry

put to music

like That

Lucky Old Sun

composed by John Beasley Smith

and written by Haven Gillespie

in 1949

and in 2008

Kenny Chesney

and Willie Nelson

came along

with their mastery of music

and made it their own

yeah, I could listen to it

for the rest of my days

TL

The Past

When I left

I shut the door

Behind me

And went back

With bolts and locks

Three times

Just to be sure

And went back

With planks of plywood

Just to be sure

And went back

With sheets of drywall

Just to be sure

And went back

With a cement truck

Just to be sure

‘til I was satisfied

And sure

That nothing could ever

Or would ever

Get back

Through

That door

And winters went by

Summers and springs

And falls

And you wake up

One day

And realize

The only way

To shut that door

Behind you

Is to walk back

Through it

Barefoot

TL

Shade

inside

every woman

is still

a little girl

sitting in the summer

sand

crying out to the ocean

for someone to please

come along

and pick her up

and tote her

to a giant umbrella

TL

For My Daughter

on the eve

of summer

the 13^th year

at a morning

stoplight

saw a small

parachute tree

upright

its leaves fresh

green

one day

it’ll take off

without a sound

to where the rain falls

before it hits

the ground

and I wonder if

it will remember

the smell of grass

in the spring

what it felt like

all those wings

fluttering

ladybugs and fireflies and butterflies

how they just appeared

then disappeared

like a hummingbird

at the window

that wouldn’t wait

for a picture

TL

The Masters 2019

woke up

this morning

and rolled out of bed

and walked to the kitchen counter

and picked up a permanent marker

and wrote on a sticky note:

Tiger Woods

5^th Masters Win!

TL

Dear Dad,

i was standing

in the kitchen

just a minute ago

putting dishes away

and the thought of you

drops out of my eyes

it’s been 26 years

why does it still hurt

i say out loud

as if you were there

in the kitchen

with me

and silently i answer

‘cause out of all the worsts

it was the worst thing

i’ve been on edge

lately

i get this way

around this time

of year

you know

i wish i could go sit in the sand

and stare out into the ocean

there’s something about the sea

that’s soothing

like all the tears are in one place

shimmering in the sun

and pathless by the moon

i roll away

TL