Author: Tamiko Lowery

To Night

i believe

He in Heaven

weeps for we

for the you in me

and the me in you

that somewhere

rain is falling

all around

the world

and some

are drowning

in such sorrow

for what

would have been

their tomorrow

TL

Depends

some girls

want diamond

rings

and pretty things

picture places

wrinkle erasers

some girls

want bars of gold

and fast cars

bottles of booze

warm body, anybody

some girls

want a smooth line

gets ‘em every time

miles of smiles

tattoos “love you”

some girls

want Friday nights

and glitzy lights

casino fights

liqueur laughter

some girls

want happily-ever-after

and white knights

royal weddings

a pink palace

that’s what

some girls want

for me

it was always

something real

like the moon at midnight

all those stars

sun sipping the sea

bird on the breeze

an old oak tree

rain on my skin

bathing within

unpicked roses

message in a bottle

fresh cut grass

lying on your back

shaping clouds

aimless acres

rushing water

untouched snow

songs you can’t let go

falling in love

a good book

an empty pew

a second glance

slow, slow dance

bit of romance

intensity

that’s just me

TL

Streets

headed home

stopped at a 4-lane

looking at lights

and a young man

appears

crossed the street

and stood at my window

his eyes soft and sad

mumbled something

his breath a bottle

“Mama, who was that man?”

and as we watched him

disappear into the night

I looked at her

in my rearview mirror

and just said,

“someone who needs

a prayer”

TL

In Life

to admit

you’re wrong

makes it right

TL

The Game

and the ball’s

back in Alabama

where Saban

was a fan …

“bout had a heart attack”

and you

marvel at greatness

wherever, whenever

and wonder

at its shape

its cut

its line

wonder

how to define

for always

when you win

anything

worth winning

you lose

something

in return

TL

Dial Down

in my

midnight ride

i reach

for the me

i know

is in there

somewhere

and i take her

down the road

where time

and place

and pleasing

have no hold

where the cataract stares

of the couple in the car side me

have no control

and i crank it up

to the nth decimal

‘til the sound reverberates

a sudden earthquake

and i can feel myself

let go

as Seger and i sing it …

“Roll Me Away …”

“Still the Same …”

“Against the Wind …”

thank God for him

TL

Wherever Was

peered into

a plastic kaleidoscope

and watched

the colors turn

round

gazed across

the sea

and saw

the waves

frown

stared at

the fall

of rain

growing gray

to ground

glimpsed a

silhouette

on the bridge

stopped and still

blinked at

the puddle

on the street

and saw

a child

look back

TL

Inheritance

when you

clock-out

for good

early or late

or on-time

matters not

no more

left

as you came

naked

stripped of

faces you war

love you lost …

found

armor you donned

the shield, the sword

put down

for the pain

is for

the newborn babe

who will

wear the faces

you war

and acquire the armor

you hid in

for sun and shadows

are like

love and hate

Heaven and earth

joy and sorrow

yesterday, tomorrow

TL

Emotion

and nothing

changes that

TL

Room

before

the stone

is laid

the earth

makes room

a square room

without ceiling

window or door

where rays of light

warm it

by day

the moon

by night

in a cycle season

of return

much like the rain

falling

from the sky

the room is filled

with drops

and when the living leave

and the day ends

and begins again

there are butterflies

that float across the flowers

their wings brushed

with sunlight

TL

Pennies

woke up

yesterday

when i was young

and the road

was

and i was

and it was

like my daughter

is

was i ever

that …

sure

that filled

that loved

TL

Back Road

split second

turn

took me

from town

the list and laundry

and what to cook

saw the land

unfold

like the sea

rolling

and the seed took

down an endless row

where long I looked

the length of barbwire

where the crows were cawing,

“the crop is good, the crop is good, the crop is good”

and still were the tractors

under the oaks

and clear was the sky

a drop-less blue

and where was i

TL

Whatever Ails

take the sun

and pour it

in your hand

and spread it

over your body

and go to sleep

and when you wake

you won’t be cold

or lonely

no more

TL

Lace

the spider

so small

climbs so high

up the trunk

higher and higher

she follows the line of the limb

and takes her thread and spins it

to the other side

and back and forth

and round and round

and up and down

she goes

sewing her doily

just so

TL

Lest

in the mess

of it all

we forget

the lessons

of the little

what children know

the earth

is not exclusive

to the few

they know

what the birds know

scribbles on paper

mean what

to a squirrel

signs and deeds and dedications

human manifestation

the blue butterfly

has no plan

the crickets

no audience

the fish

no direction

and yet

they move

as one

TL

Open Space

essential

to the soul

of man

of woman

of child

is roam

a place to roam

wild and free

and travel we

to the edge of time

we do

for none of us

is without this want

this need

this desire

to leave

all we know

for an unknown place

a silent glade

an untouched blade

this sense of searching

an internal longing

a restless breath

a solitary sigh

is there

ever in the eye

where all things lie

sitting in the Sahara

listening to the sea

meditating on a mountain

swimming in aquamarine

sleeping in an igloo

dancing in a teepee

walking in wildflowers

standing in snow

tasting the rain

feeling the gust

watching the wind

rush and rush

running where

there are no roads

or dead end signs

or gates to climb

or walls to rope

or doors to push

or windows to close

where there is

no beginning

no end

only the middle

of the page

where no pen

has been

TL

Rainy Days

tea bags

keep breaking

a p a r t

and the bird’s going

crazy in his cage

and the balls keep going

over the wall

and the songs are all sad

about love

and the sun covered its head

under the clouds

and granny’s in her house

getting old

and the feathers are floating

top to bottom

and she’s checking her look in the mirror

6 to 16

and those yellow roses always turn

brown by morning

and none of it’s new to me

so why

“and Mother Mary speaks to me …

let it be”

TL

Stories

you can

do everything right

or everything wrong

you can read all the books

or none at all

you can fall in love

or never come close

you can travel the world

or never leave home

you can work all your life

or not

you can believe in dreams

or give them up

you can pick all the flowers

or leave them in the ground

you can drive down the street

or walk

you can save all your money

or spend it

you can talk and talk and talk

or listen

you can give and give and give

or take

you can hurt someone

or heal them

you can shuffle

or deal

you can hold on

or let go …

you can live as if you know

or live and know you don’t

and no matter what you do

or don’t do

nothing prepares you

for The End

TL

Love Me

when nothing

makes sense

and I can’t see

my way

where I’m going

where I’m at

where I’ve been

tell me this again

tell me that you love me

I need to hear it now

tell me you don’t care

where I’m going

where I’m at

where I’ve been

only that you love me

tell me this again

I need to hear it now

not so much in words

just my hand in yours

TL

“Mind Over Matter”

close my eyes

can hear the gull

and children squealing

and palms swaying

and coolers closing

and umbrellas opening

and my heart beating

can feel the coal on my feet

and still I lie down

and welcome the pain

then rivers of relief

in the fingertips of foam

I swim in the sea

taste the salt on my lip

and float away

from shore

human no more

TL