Author: Tamiko Lowery

Rearden

you’re supposed

to be

outside right now

sweeping the entryway

readying your mind

for the day

and it’s a long one

got a cap and a crown

cavities

to drill down

some wisdom

a bridge

and that stubborn girl’s

coming in

maybe if you’d stuck around

now, we sit there waiting

for you to come around

the corner

and appear in the doorway

with those magnifying eyes

missing nothing

he don’t miss nothing either

you’d like him

Gamotis

he admires your work

as you would his

gonna go see him

this morning

and get a brushing

and hope it’s just that

you know how it is

anyways, things are running

like clockwork

around there

you’d be proud

proud of ‘em

the girls

they kept it together

professional

but you already knew that …

knew they would

(March 10, 1948 – September 14, 2013)

TL

Seven Stars

Mc

Far

land

U

S

A

TL

DWTS

and the stars align

Derek Hough

has changed his mind

TL

Base

in the per

plexity

the quan

dary

the con

voluted

thing

be but

a lov

er

of sim

ple

things

like

base

ball

TL

Birdy Bird

in the cage

of the cat

the bird

flew not where

and even if

not with half a wing

on the mend

with the blue sky

in her eye

and the glint of sun

threaded through wet needles

she meant to rest

for but a moment

but fell fast asleep

on a limb

too high

and dropped

like a longleaf pine

that lives

but 500 years

TL

Flurry

there is

a quiet

at the end

of a lane

a pause

before it turns

to a street

becomes a road

an interchange

you close your eyes

and there’s a butterfly

why is it there

you watch it wink

down the path

beyond your reach

you open your eyes

and pause

before you take a hard right

‘cause you coulda sworn you felt it

the slightest brush

but that’s absurd

there are no butterflies

in the dead of winter

mustta been a snowflake

that fell

a drop that froze

overnight

TL

Bob Simon

he told

the stories

from the ground floor

not an escalator scraper

or an anchor’s cushion

he stood in the dirt

his boots muddy

his eyes full

of things

he never spoke

his compassion felt

across the lines

the way he gave dignity

to the deprived

there was no difference

between the dignitary or the derelict

he held them with the same gaze

gave them the same billing

he was what a reporter ought to be

humane

(May 29, 1941 – Feb. 11, 2015)

TL

Be Super

stadium seats

television screens

radio speakers

online apps

the playback …

an All-American flash

a snippet

to carry in the pocket

that thing coaches preach

in leagues big and little

in fields wide and narrow

backyards, city parks, the street

from the mud hole to the mountain

“believe you can … and you will”

TL

Maintenance

I stare

at the crack

in the ceiling

my music’s too loud

but I like it loud

I like to feel it

coursing through me

like a crashing wave

gets me up the hill

down the plank

through the set

past the stretch

and as I lie in sweat

staring at the crack

in the ceiling

I feel lighter somehow

not pounds lighter

just lighter

it’s my mind, my heart, my soul

that lifts

TL

Circular

whatever

it is

don’t let it

overtake you

sure it’s hard

and it hurts real bad

and you think you’re gonna die

never make it out

don’t sit in the ditch

don’t lie there

crawl if you have to

you’ll find your feet

one step, two

don’t turn around

keep to the front

toes forward

walk

walking helps

you’re moving

your body is moving

that’s important

down the mile

you’ll notice the light

the way it wakes the day

you’ll feel the rain

the way it clears the dust, the debris

you’ll see that life is circular

connected

you are a miracle

and you mean something

to somebody somewhere

even if you don’t know it

haven’t met them yet

you will in time

there is always a choice

free will

choose: yourself

put the pills down

drop the blade

toss the needle

get off the tracks

the ledge

don’t pull the trigger

untie the rope

flush the white stuff

trash the bottles

all of ‘em

get outta the car

the tub

he ain’t worth it

she ain’t worth it

they ain’t worth it

pain ain’t worth it

trust me

it ain’t worth it

but you are

you’re worth every bit

that person that died

wouldn’t want you to quit

get up

one step, two …

TL

Tea Time

perhaps

the world

could use

a cup of tea

with a lump of sugar

a biscuit and jam

a triangular sandwich

a snowy berry tart

forget the press

the pleat

the plat

forget all that

sit and sip

a spell

with me

a steamy cup

of English tea

not reserved for ladies

in turret castles

a man needs reprieve

a child needs treats

the old man, the young woman

they need to believe

the rich and the poor

sit at the same table

reaching for the same cup

of warmth

and belonging

TL

Speck

think not

this

for this

is not

a present thing

a sustained state

of being

no matter what

your watch says

or the potions promise

or the dance of endorphins in your head

the day will come

despite the unfinished crumb

you can gather all the intelligence

across seven continents

read every word

in the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève

push your body past the sea

of Galilee

find your inner peace

at Everest

that golden moment

at the pond

maybe love

token or not

your journey

your voyage

your quest

over air, rail or sea

ends somewhere

in the desert sole

a speck

that once walked

the sands

mirrored shore to shore

a shadow there

the length of it

dialed toward the sun

the silver spoon of the moon

TL

Keep Moving

it might

be raining

sheets

soaking down the dirt

a spot for the stem

the river rises

a puddle forms

the streets slicken

all awash

town and country

fields and parking lots

all the soles

rushing to and fro

like scurried squirrels

grazed by tread

the drops miss nothing

above or below

‘cept the blur

the blink

was that a hummingbird

TL

Duh

like DWTS

without Derek

like 007

without Connery

like country music

without Chesney

like movies

without Caviezel

like the Tide

without Saban

like golf

without Tiger

like Rocky

without Stallone

like rap

without Eminem

like rock

without Elvis

like the news

without Cronkite

like the big screen

without Hanks

like Kung Fu

without Lee

like superman

without Reeve

like About Schmidt

without Nicholson

like comedy

without Carrey

like Titanic

without Leo

like action

without Statham

like a voice

without Freeman

like Thor

without Hemsworth

yeah, ya can’t do DWTS

without Derek

duh

TL

The Tree

it stands

unmoved

by birds

of feather

that land

haphazard

on its limb

resting ever

in its arms

singing sweetly

to the day

for the tree

has been there

before

beautiful birds

cannot be caged

they go whence the wind

beyond the borders of the forest

a million moons away

they wing

far from buried roots

and blades

some come back

someday

others never do

the tree understands

that

like the spider

that climbs its grooves

looking to spin

or the butterfly that breezes by

leaving its cocoon

or the mother bird

her nest of cracked shells

those are ornamental things

ordinary in nature

it stands

a thousand years

more

to feel the print

of a wayward child

that looks up, up, up

amazed

and all the loss

of lesser things

matter not

to the tree

for it knows

not even the slant of rain

can remove

a child’s handprint

from its heart

TL

Create

the Pacific

the Atlantic

the Indian

the Arctic

the water moves

high tide, low tide

it’s liquid across all four

spilling over sand

pulling up letters

flooding the palace

a tsunami

of sorts

what we go through

as human beings

at different levels

of sea

what drowns

what floats

what you try to keep dry

and save

maybe that’s why the sky

is such a sacred thing

it connects a people

to a place

we look up

from below

like an ant on a hill

the clouds shred apart

to reveal the grey

a dab of white and black

blended on the board

and brushed against canvas

the Artist works

in charcoal

TL

Ways

people get stuck

in the ways

in the passenger seat

the front row

the bedding

the cell

the shoes

the grave

the height of pleasure

brewed and burned

that full feeling

nuked and trashed

the depth of denial

coursing through

the weathervane

‘cause you go to work

and do your job

and pay your bills

and sign your name

and give a dime

and sit in church

and laugh on cue

and go to that thing

and hold that door

and nod your head

and throw that ball

and light that wick

and cook that meal

and run that race

and net that fish

and cut the grass

and sift the sand

and bring the flowers

and walk the dog

and bake the cake

and paint the fence

and nail the roof

and bang the drums

and clear the clutter

and save the book

and take the train

and turn the blind

and lift the cup

and light the stick

and shoot it up

and make a mess

and fix your face

and set the timer

and straighten your tie

and wave goodbye

and board the plane

and close your eyes

and walk the aisle

and sit in that chair

and say you’ll be back

and fall off the cliff

and get hit by the bus

and blown away on the plane

and shot by a stranger

and run over by bulls

and sunk by a ship

and taken hostage

and beheaded

and left for dead

boxed or burned

on the return

go stand in the mirror

under the sting

and wipe the film

make like you see

whatever works

TL

Felt

lo and behold

the embodiment

of a being

how one comes to be

who they are

the story behind the story

drawn in

by happenstance

held there

by silence

for tears are quiet creatures

that fall

without knowing

brushed beneath

an Apec blue

TL

Two Years

and just like that

like when it rains

and the sun’s out

was like that

out of nowhere

two years

she gave me back

two years

and it’s common knowledge

to her

like kimchi with each meal

but wholly-cow alien to me

and I’m sitting there

but am I really there

in that café atmosphere

people chomping their pastries and sipping their drug

a child whining, silverware dropping

“what … wait a minute, what …

what did you say … can you repeat that?”

and she does

with the patience she affords her children

“you see, in Korea, when a baby is first born …

a year is added right then. And then when it turns January 1,

we add another year to that.”

I forget what else she said

later on, I show her the only photo I have

and she tells me I look like I’m one

that I was born in 1972

even though my birth certificate from Korea has 1970

you walk around your whole life

with questions you’ll never have answered

lines on a sheet of paper left empty

and they still have my file at the orphanage

but haven’t the information to fill the blanks

so, two years

whether it’s really true or not

I’ll take it

TL

Memorabilia

he had

a TV

in the basement

of that white two-story

a recliner where he’d sit

and unwind

watching mostly sports

but he never missed an episode

of Happy Days

neither did i

tiptoed on the stair

quietly sitting there

he’d let out a roar of laughter

and i always thought he looked

so much like the Fonz

with his dark hair combed straight back

and i think sometimes

he knew i was there

roaring with him

but he never let on

he’d come home with candy in his pockets

and have me guess which one

peanut or plain m&ms

we’d spend hours in the snow

building men

and baseballs

he was so much like a kid

filled with joy

we’d walk the woods

and he’d pick me up

and put me on the highest boulder

summers he spent mowing the grass

and i’d tote him some tea

and he’d act like it was the best drink

in the whole wide

i followed him everywhere

but there

he wouldn’t let me

go there

TL