Author: Tamiko Lowery

Weeping Willow

there’s a willow

that sits

on the edge

of a ripple

her hair

left long

and golden

tousled and untamed

a fountain there

sprays a mild mist

a balm against

a summer sun

scent in a whisper

the mist

mimics memory

of an untold

story

as legends go

her leaves fell

in a whirling winter

leaving the bark bare

a lamp without shade

the trunk burned

by day

in embers of rain

the bark

took her tears

and etched them

against the grain

and when night

the moon

a slice

the coolness

of the stars

like snowflakes

that disappear

in sleep

there he dreamed

a good dream

as he stood

by the ripple

the promise

of spring

her hair

all around

the dream

eternal

TL

Unprepared

months later

got a letter

from the book

store

telling me

sorry

but

couldn’t

find

a copy

of Ephron’s

work

not Sleepless in Seattle

or You’ve Got Mail

or Julie and Julia

but the book she wrote

about her neck

and how she felt bad about it

standing at the helpdesk

on a day I turned 40-something

the young girl

typed in the long title …

whilst trying not to look at my neck

and I was young

like her

20 years ago

when the furthest thing

was this

how nothing prepares you

for this

not the weeds of gray hair

not the relentless wrinkles

not the climbing cellulite

not the tight inner tube

not the field of freckles

not the aches

not the pain

no, nothing

quite

on the day

you look in the mirror

and see

some-

thing

you never thought about

worried about

and I wanna tell 20

SPF

not just your mask

but everything below it

especially your neeeeeeeeeeeeck

‘cause someday

you’ll be a desperate fool

reaching for something

anything

maybe even a book

to help you through

TL

Alas

once you

put on

an inner tube

(xs, small, medium, large, XL, XXL, XXXL)

it’s hard as

to get it off

suctioned there

at the waistline

you carry it

round

as if you were in

your first three trimesters

what a sobering thought

(especially if you’re a guy)

so, there you are

hopping around

from one foot to the other

wriggling and jiggling

pushing and pulling

trying your best

to pry it off

wondering when

or if

it’ll ever deflate

so you can finally

swim free

and clear

of the plastic

lap for lap

flip over on your back

and float

then dripping wet

emerge from the waves

like a sculpture

like a Greek goddess

that has shed her toga

and doesn’t mind being painted

in the nude

TL

Receipt

the cat

was waiting

for a pat

for he’d

brought me

a bird

a little brown bird

and he knows

how I love birds

and I’ve tried to tell him

that I prefer them

in a tree

or on the breeze

but he just stares at me

puzzled

for he’d

brought me

a bird

a little brown bird

and he knows

how I love birds

TL

Mere

people wait

for miles

to stand

at the foot

of a mountain

and take a puff

and look around

a tree

find its leaves

in light

they sit at streams

and stack pebbles

and pretend

as the faucet runs

without a handle

down the fall

making bubbles

that spill over

the side

and when

they get back

to concrete things

like clothes

and shoes

and handles

that turn

hot to cold

they look around

TL

A Turtle

it may not

summit the cliff

like a lion

or break the horizon

like an eagle

or quake the ground

like an elephant

or rush the wind

like a giraffe

or swing from trees

 like a chimpanzee

or eyeball limbs

like a gator

or circle a ship

like a shark

or slip the night

like a panther

or rip the roots

like a bear

or run the land

like a horse

no, it might not

be a beast

not even close

but it’s determined

to get where it’s going

if it’s headed out to sea

it takes no shortcut

if it’s headed across the street

it takes its chances

if it sets its course

it stays it

sand or sea

grass or leaves

storm or no

might take it time

a little like a lifetime

to get where it’s going

but there’s no quit

under the armor

might not make it across

never even stand a chance

but a turtle

a hard-shell turtle

will die trying

TL

Beheld

I watched

a flower fold

its color drained

and the dress it wore

a ruffled puddle on the floor

unzipped at the seam

the stem above ground

at loss

without blush

TL

Shifting

on a frozen breath

held like a lake

when the sun

touches ice

a matchstick scrape

bled against the grain

a flickered flame

the stick its last smoke

rises to the cloud

nearest the sun

TL

Overcome

wanted to cry

on a Wednesday

but didn’t have time

so, I laughed

instead

TL

Vivid

woke up

late

dreaming weird

dreams

and I never dream

much

just she

and me

in the car

a blue car

had just

put our clubs

in the back

and got in

but instead of

going forward

we started slipping

back

slowly back

and kept moving

backwards

but we weren’t

anywhere near a course

we were on the hunting land

and we were lost

down this long dirt road

rolling back

further and further

and then the car

in movie slow-mo

flipped over

and landed on

all fours

and kept rolling

slowly backwards

until it finally stopped

in the middle of nowhere

and we got out

and I made a cell phone call

and then I heard a man

clear his throat

from a shack in the woods

and I told her

quick! get back in the car

then I woke up

weird, huh

TL

Consumption

a plate

is put down

between the fork

the knife and spoon

napkin and stem

a glow of light

shadows the room

a scent of softness

brings the shade

chairs slide back

and forth

the stem sips

the plate is raked

the napkin tossed aside

the fork, the knife, the spoon

at rest

all go down into the sink

the washer

scrubbed and polished

and well-used

TL

Depth

I hold out

my hand

to touch

the snow

a fallen flake

hard edges

melting all the while

it won’t ever be

as it was

in the air

wandering

taken on the map

of my palm

it streams

past the pyramids

where the wild horses run

skimming the shores of Siberia

back to Baikal

TL

Diamonds

yes, I do

I squint through

the same drop

as you

and see it

the same as you

the greens, the blues

the pitch beneath them, too

I see it

stuck on windows

or strung across the branch

or sipping slow on blades

out the creases

the corners of an eye

what dying does

what love requires

in the beginning

in the middle

in the end

I see it

same as you

the drop

before it fell

whence it was

above me

or below

TL

“Chaos and the Calm”

been away …

… just away

with the poet

James Bay

TL

Windshield

before long

I’ll be gone

and you’ll be gone

and they’ll be gone

we’ll all be gone

will you remember

how good it was

how good it could have been

that walk you never took

when the sun

shone

a polished moon

shattered on the glass

how the flowers swayed

small against the bark

the wind rushed up

and past

ripping through the limbs

a nest on the ground

what color is the sky

was it cold

the rain

not cold enough

did the snow melt the man

can’t see the star

from where i am

so, how do ‘ya know

it fell

if you weren’t there

to see it

TL

Restore

when you’re

in need

of a friend

you think

God mighta forgot

to send

step outside

your door

and follow the trail

where the armored trees

stand strong

lean on them

the wind

will find you

wherever you are

and help you along

your way

the sun will hold you

for a thousand summers

in its warm-full embrace

the flowers will give you

what you need to remember

about a beautiful thing

and if you should ever wonder

how you’ll ever make it through

just drop your head

and look down

at the dirt cold ground

the ants will show you

a thing or two

about endurance

how nothing is too hard

not even a downpour

TL

Injustice

there are

men and women

who serve

a life sentence

for their crimes

for all they’ve done wrong

there are

men and women

who do no time

never sentenced

for their crimes

for all they’ve done wrong

a child

does not speak

a child

does not say

a child

does not tell

there are

children round the world

who serve

a life sentence

for no crime

in a closet cell they sit

shackled

they can’t get up

even though

the Warden

long unlocked the chains

and signed their papers

free to go …

the cage door opened

w i d e

but the stupid bird just sits there

staring at the door

‘cause it forgot how to fly

TL

Acceptance

want not

to ask

a word why

of any when

of a whole thing

within its infinite

parts

whether working

in accord

in discord

the line stops

as it started

you forget a face

your own

the winter world

you walk in

and out of

a trail of glass

worn to water

you sink to its bottom

squinting like warmed ice

on a windshield

Atlantis does exist

TL

Transition

in the end

my dear friend

you won’t need

your spectacles

or your teeth

you won’t need

your shoes

or your wallet

you won’t need

your belt

or your buckle

you won’t need

your hat

or your coat

you won’t need

your watch

or your pen

you won’t need

a shower

or a commode

you won’t need

a phone

or a quarter

you won’t need

a television

or a remote

you won’t need

a car

or a house

you won’t need

a lawnmower

or a shed

you won’t need

a table

or a chair

you won’t need

a book

or a map

you won’t need

an envelope

or a stamp

you won’t need

your shirt

or your pants

you won’t need

trinkets

or tools

you won’t need

a cane

or a walker

or a wheelchair

you won’t need

a cup

or a saucer

you won’t need

a fork

or a spoon

or a knife

you won’t need

a ticket

or a receipt

you won’t need

a list

or a reminder

you won’t need

to go

and come back

you won’t need

a key

or a lock

you won’t need

to talk

or be heard

you won’t need

to know what day

week or year

you won’t need

to please

or plan

or promise

you won’t need

a lamp

or a candle

or a stick

you won’t need

a match

or a lighter

or a switch

you won’t need

a compass

or a channel

or a chime

you won’t need

a toothpick

or a brush

or a comb

you won’t need

a dip

or a snuff

you won’t need

plenty

or enough

you won’t need

up or over

you won’t need

before or after

you won’t need

this

anymore

the sun and moon

will converge

the wind will lift you

like a leaf

and carry you across

the blue sea

to the end of the ocean

where the earth is ending

and the heavens just begun

TL

Trick-or-Treat

we won’t turn

right

we’ll drive straight

to the light

and take a left

we won’t see ‘ya tonight

we won’t turn

right

we’ll drive straight

to the light

and take a left

she won’t be knocking

at your door

we won’t turn

right

we’ll drive straight

to the light

and take a left

we won’t be watching you

watching her

we won’t turn

right

we’ll drive straight

to the light

and take a left

we won’t come in

and sit a spell

we won’t turn

right

we’ll drive straight

to the light

and take a left

we won’t laugh like that

without a joke

we won’t turn

right

we’ll drive straight

to the light

and take a left

we won’t get up

to hug ‘ya bye

we won’t turn

right

we’ll drive straight

to the light

and take a left

we won’t hear ‘ya say

“come back

and see me

sometime …”

we won’t turn

right

we’ll drive straight

to the light

and take a left

we won’t see ‘ya tonight

TL