Category: Tamiko Lowery

Pings

the sensation

of sound

can carry you

back

to infancy

and forth

to sedentary

 pots clanging

the show on television

the door opening

… closing

the spoon scraping

the bowl

the dog barking

people talking

the rain falling

the wind blowing

the AC clicking

the heater switching

the washers running

the phone ringing

Granny singing

somebody laughing

somebody crying

the chair pushed back

the page turned down

the footsteps in the hall

the hand on your head

the pat on your back

the kiss on your cheek

the memories you keep

the alarm buzzing

the shower sting

the crank of the car

the tread

stopping-turning-gliding

put it in park

get out and walk

daylight

to

moonlight

TL

She Is

when it comes

to tangible

things

and though

pleasing

surprising

thoughtful

they were

and thankful

I was

it is

an altogether

indescribable

amazing

thing

to open

crumpled packages

taped and tied

and she’s helping you

open them

birthdays

Christmas

Mother’s Day

Valentine’s Day

Any Day

she’s helping you

open them

can’t wait

for you

to see

what all

she picked out

for you

special

in her room

among her

most favorite treasured things

and she could

love, love, love

the locket

or the music box

or the peach tinged rose

or the silver broken butterfly wing

or the neon marker

or the mouse that jabbers and zags

or the Mexican maracas

or the monkey that jumps out of his box

or the rocks she found in the river that day

or the heart shaped paperweight

or the mustache pen

or really quite anything

that was given

or kept

or loved a whole lot

this is what

she wraps up

in crumpled paper

taped and tied

for me

to open up

TL

“Master Builder”

she brought

to me

a little Lego tree

on a little piece

of grass

attached to a strip

of sand

that was

attached to a strip

of sea

and said,

“see … that’s a tree

and that’s the grass

and that’s the sand

and that’s the umbrella

in the sand

like at the beach

and that blue part’s

the ocean …”

TL

Fighting Fish

and I forget

how long

but it’s been years

since we

bought him

on a whim

at that pet store

down the street

found him sitting

on a shelf

with a ton of other

fish

sitting in the same

boat

his speck eyes

sizing us up

and we agreed

he’s the one

and she held him

careful

in her backseat booster

all the way home

but the best part

was that moment

when

we lifted the plastic lid

off that container

and poured him out

into a big bowl

of water

and watched him

swim

and he did

a backstroke

and a butterfly

and scuba-dived

and looked at us

through his glass goggles

and winked

with those speck eyes

TL

Did

he sat

beside me

and smiled

like he does

and asked

“so, what’d you do today?”

like he already knows

what I’ll say

and at first

I thought about

saying

what he already knew

I’d say

“nothing.”

but for some

reason

I said

something

“well, this morning

I wrote a poem

and watched a hummingbird

fly

and let the dogs out

and let the dogs in

and fed the cat

and gave the baby rabbit a bottle

and changed the bird’s water and food and laid a fresh sheet

and did the same for the white rabbit

and dropped 4 pellets in the Betta bowl

and put the dishes in the washer

and the clothes

and waited on the Queen

and made a cake

the bed

her read

and worked out

and watched her nuke a burrito

and cut it up

and cleaned up Kool-Aid

the toilet

the crumbs

the counter

and watched

“wax on, wax off”

and cooked macaroni

and baked chicken

and put the laundry away

and taught her how to do

a jumping round-house kick

and played some music

and moved to it

and tried to find the UFC fight

for Saturday night

and let the dogs out

and let the dogs in

and fed the cat

and gave the baby rabbit a bottle

and put the dishes up

the pen down”

TL

Emersion

the cloud

above

tore like cotton

in my hand

like marshmallows

in hot water

getting smaller

dissolved

like bubbles beaded

in a bath

getting lighter

dispersed

like foam fingers

on a wave

getting closer

diffused

the print

battered in sand

burned

TL

Facets

there is

a silver stream

that trickles

through a village

and weaves its way

through town

and country

and state lines

covers continents

and boarders and walls and fences

over mountains

sea and air

it seeps into the street

through doors

and windows and bars

can get at anything

anywhere

at anytime

the armored man

the strongest woman

no difference

in the pocket

or the purse

the silver drops

the same

TL

Seeker

just yesterday

the train whistle

blew through

Opelika, Alabama

wherein lies

Historian Henry Stern

TL

Drift

the distant

rumble

reverberates

the ripple

a drop effect

of summer

saturated in sheets

hung out

on the line

to dry

like the bills

of bark

that fall

and scatter

in circular motion

picked up

like a sail

TL

Mortal

if it meant

she could

she would

she’d suit him up

and send him

high

straight for

the magic pie

that Armstrong ate

the slice that made him

dance on air

and nothing was hard

up there

like it was down here

where a maze of medicine

can slow it

not stop it

and she knows those

who’ve been there

who are there

but it’s different

when it’s your door

and the kids are yours

and they don’t know

what you know

and how can you explain

what you haven’t yourself

only that

we but live

of us all

on a watch

of gold

not ours

to wear

and so it is

and so it was

and so it will be

for we are

what we are

not born

of this

lest we forget

from time to time

He will remind

TL

No More

he looked up

with those sad droopy-eyes

and almost caved

but steeled myself

and turned away

two’s enough

no more dogs

no more rabbits

no more birds

woke up

the next day

to a tiny panther

and she looked up

with those bright yellow eyes

and said, “step aside”

so now I say

no more dogs

no more rabbits

no more birds

no more cats

TL

White Dove

Sam i am

was a quiet man

who talked a lot

about simple things

like where to put the comma

in a sentence

he’d call me up

close to midnight

to make sure

and I loved him for that

for caring that much

about that

dog tired

and red-rimmed

he never gave in

put himself in their shoes

he understood the product

the first-read

and nobody knew

out there

but I like to think

they did

just didn’t know it

all those years

’til that morning

when they were left

wondering

what was missing

something was missing

somewhere between the line

the day Sam i am

turned off his lamp

put down his red pen

and never called me again

TL

 

Baby Blues

she’ll get in

her car

and drive

and maybe she’ll

put on some music

and maybe she won’t

she’ll be hot

from the run around

and crank the AC up

full blast

so she won’t mess

her makeup up

but it won’t be the sweat

she has to worry with

she’ll stop at the light

and wait for it

to change

and she won’t see

the scene

in the shield

the grass, the trees

automatic movement

she might take a sip

if she has a cup

and her cell might ring

and she’ll pick it up

and probably answer

and depending on

who it is

she’ll talk or won’t

and the closer she gets

to the brick

the further she’ll go

inward

so the outward

will be light and bright

and ready for hugs

and “welcome back”

and repeat questions

and repeat answers

and she’ll laugh

like she does

and show pictures

and it’ll be ok

‘cause she knows

the clock on the wall

never stops

and being busy

makes it tick faster

so she’ll stay busy

and when it’s time to go

she’ll get in

her car

and drive

back to him

TL

Tourist

there’s this

segment series

new

that comes on

T.V.

between Redemption

and Flay

and I record ‘em all

and watch ‘em

when it’s just me

play

rewind

pause

and the kimchi

burns my eyes

TL

Ballerina

still has

glitter

on the toe

this small slipper

gold

spray painted

for the show

it turned

a kid

from nowhere

into a star

somewhere

TL

Pilot

the trees

stood uniform

in passing fields

of golden hay

still and strong

untouched by man

or natural disaster

their grand simplicity

made perfect

in ladder limbs

brimmed in giant tears

that brush against

the feathered bird

that lights upon its rung

to rest a bit

before it up and takes off

and flies

over yonder

TL

Knowledge

don’t you know

what don’t you know

i know i don’t know …

that’s what i know

then you know

what you need to know

TL

Danaus Plexippus

they have

but a month

or so

to live

before

they die

and so

they fly

across

blue sky

and kiss

the forehead

of a flower

and travel trunks

to land the lofty leaf

nearest the light

that’s why their wings

get burnt

why they get thirsty

and drink all the dew

in Mexico

and if spotted

by a child

they might

linger there

for a beat

or two

less there’s a net

or the jail of a jar

or a greedy grab

then it’s like

they were never there

at all

for Monarchs know

when to stay

when to go

they live

as if they know

they only have

but a month

or so

TL

Dear Dad,

she’ll be

eight

at the end

of the month

and taller

than me

by this time

next year

she’s got big feet

and likes to part her hair

straight down the middle

like Alfalfa

she hates to brush her teeth

or be told to brush her teeth

she doesn’t like tomatoes

or putting things back where they belong

or being told to put things back where they belong

she likes to run the show

and for the most part

I let her

she makes straight As

and can comprehend

whatever she reads

and this helps her to write

her short stories, poems and letters

she takes ballet

and moves across the floor

with natural grace

and when we’re at home

I teach her karate

and we spar in the kitchen

and when we’re upstairs in the gym

she watches me lift weights

and does the same

with her weights

and we both love music

and dancing

we do a lot of dancing

and I think she’s awake now

‘cause I hear her feet

coming down the kitchen

yep

she’s awake

and reading this …

but before I go

want you to know

what an artist she is

her paintings and drawings

have such dimension

and feeling and movement

and something all her own

so for her birthday

this year

we’re going to turn a room

into an art studio

and let her paint murals

on her walls

the sun

and the clouds

the rain

and the snow

the moon

and the stars

and the green

that grows

oh, and one more thing

did I tell you she’s fearless

she has a pink go-kart

with a pink helmet

and a four wheeler

with a medal foot

and she’s pretty good

at golf

too

TL

Dr. Pittard

he was

by my side

through it all

and I knew

he’d see me through

come what may

he knew my fears

even if I never said

he sensed it

like he did

with so many

before

with so many

after

but it was more

than that

more than I would admit

my mother died

giving birth to me

that’s what I always believed

always would

nine months …

of being afraid

then I heard her cry

and he was by my side

telling me how good I did

then he sewed me back up

and my life began

that day

eight years later

he’s the one

who needs to be sewed back up

it’s his heart

that needs mending

no doctor can cure

and I wish there were something

but there’s nothing you can do or say

when someone you love so

passes away

TL