Category: Tamiko Lowery

Re-Invent

she’s walking

around the house

in and out of rooms

picking up things

putting them down

and the quiet’s too loud

so she switches the tube

to a cooking channel

but there’s too much food

for them, for two

used to never be enough

empty cartons in the frig

crumb of cereal in the box

ham but no bread

bread but no ham

and the dog was fat

like the laundry

and there was always

somewhere to be

and then there wasn’t

and she thought she’d be relieved

but she wasn’t

all this time

was left

and she hadn’t a clue

what to do with it

she’s walking

around the house

in and out of rooms

picking up things

putting them down

and the quiet’s too loud

TL

Restoreth

sit at a desk

year after year

file down a hall

open and close

grab your gear

laugh for lunch

fill in bubbles

No. 2 pencil

A

B

C

D

all of the above

pick something

or it picks you

go to college

or go to work

define yourself by either

or define yourself by neither

position and person

not quite

not in the end

it’s the work within

a separate peace

past your past

beyond your present

rain nor shine

a body broken

heart and mind

the well within

an eternal spring

TL

Mermaid

an hourglass

in Siberia

broke

and she held

out her hands

and returned it

to the deep

and went to sleep

and while she slept

the sand and sea

went to work

and when she woke

there were pearls in a circle

and shells on the line

and she picked one up

and held it to her ear

and said, “Hello”

and the ocean

answered

TL

Princess Diana

her son

married today

her second

by his side

her beloved boys

now men

continue on their way

and she is there

as she has always been

keeping them strong

and full of grace

her peaceful presence

their answered prayer

she is there

TL

Best Time

they’re all grown

the boy, the girl

the girl, the boy

the ones who ran

up and down the hill

like Jack and Jill

blowing bubbles

round and round

like “duck, duck, GOOSE”

counting stars

and falling bridges

cartwheels-Hot Wheels

they knew the secret

and never told

they heard the bell

and picked the apples

they climbed the trees

and jumped the rope

they skipped the rocks

and wrote with sticks

they sailed around the world

asleep in their bottom boat

they saved the rain

the bug, the frog

they rolled like barrels

swam like dogs

fell off their bike

got up and laughed

 drew a sword

and saved the day

ate on the run

Cowboys and Indians

Demi-Plie

and nothing was ever as good

‘til the boy, the girl

the girl, the boy

came back

to play

TL

 

Matte

there’s a box

of black and whites

in the corner shop

dimes a dozen

proof they were here

and there were children, too

small versions

of the same print

dead of disease

lack of

such and such

and so forth

and so on

and so well

would that you

frame them all

and give them

something to say

TL

Timing

they traveled

the same road

trying to get to the other side

both made it to the middle

where one remained

seeped into the cement

the other lifted

and carried to the wheat

both had it hard

out there

in the wild

their number called up

too many times

grazed but missed

they made it

past their parents

found some hole

and buried themselves

when it was cold

found a full tree

when it was hot

and when the sky

withheld the rain

they dug for drops

hunkered in the ditch

waiting for an opening

to crawl through

they traveled

the same road

trying to get to the other side

both made it to the middle

where one remained

seeped into the cement

the other lifted

and carried to the wheat

TL

Beautiful

when they were

little girls

all their dolls

looked the same

like Cinderella

and Ken was always in love

with Barbie

for she was the ideal

and girls around the world

wanted that

and would shut their door

and bleach their black hair

and turn their brown eyes blue

and this was happening

around the world

in the house next door

across the street

and you wonder where they went

all those girls

and do they still love Cinderella

do they feel good enough

for Ken

TL

Sunrise

the streets

are clear of cars

the fountain

in the square

is churning out a cloud

of cotton candy

where children were

just yesterday

just last year

and the bunny’s in the back

waiting for her to wake up

and the fog is hovering

over Rosemere

like steam

off a coffee pot

and the guy

on the bicycle

has no teeth

and the woman running

has no makeup

and the lady with her bag

doesn’t need any

and the guy sitting outside his can

is puffing his own cloud

and the blades of grass

are growing

there at Garden Hills

where the living and the dead

are gathered

and spread

TL

“No Girls Allowed!”

wonder what

men say

when they’re away

from the wheel

leaned over the bed

of a Tonka truck

boot on the back bumper

spitting over their shoulder

laughing like teenagers

just turned 16

kings of the court

baseball braves

football phenoms

rock star waves

comedian crazed

wonder what

men say

do they whine like women

gossip like grandmas

argue like lawyers

curse like sailors

what is it

they’re trying to convey

as they talk and talk and talk

gasping for breath

punching at wind

recalling where all they’ve been

who, what, when

this universal thing

that draws men in

and keeps ‘em fountain fresh

TL

Remain

times

there were times

but you were busy

too busy to bother

so sought the stair

a single step

bleachers back

unaware

hear a beat

charge it to the moon

look at the ground

the dirt, the grass

feel the fan

will the rain

close my eyes

and see

TL

 

Bare

what of the words

unheard

that in a glance

you say

marry me today

and we will live

“beyond the border”

and push our boat

away from shore

and drift to the rim

of rain no more

the lightning line

where the “ring of fire”

slips the sky

for a burnt kiss

beneath the veil

and in its wake

the sea blinks

back the tears

and a wave

of diamonds

sail the wind

and scatter

like stars

where no moon

has been

TL

Gossamer

spider lines

cast out

and catch

the morning ray

like silver strands

that stream

through a head of green

damp with dew

and the wind blows through

and through

from far

and away

a distant day

you know it not

for your jar is full

of light

and you keep it there

at night

right by your bed

where you sleep

and wake up

and you forget

your jar

is blown of glass

not welded of steel

and when it breaks

regardless of the care

will the light

within

continue …

to spin and spin

TL

Cocoon

they took

their hammock

to a tree

and stretched it

to another

and got in

like caterpillars

and the rest of it

fell away

as they lie

suspended

leaf to limb

TL

Cycle

they inched

along the aisle

this man

this woman

this child

and a sense

of something sad

seemed to surround them

permeating from their pores

as they trudged

to the front

to check-out

and this woman

yells at this man

she married

“Matt, What Are You Doing,

Get Over Here!”

and like an obedient and beaten down dog

he does what he’s told

without a whimper

and this child

between them

does not react at all

for he wasn’t smiling

before

TL

Present

careful not

to drop the top

she toddles

through the door

a baby no more

and tells me

to come quick

for there’s treasure

in her pockets

and there on the carpet

a small Stonehenge

appears

and she tells me

she would have gotten more

had she had bigger pockets

and she picks each one up

and holds it to the light

to show the shape

the cut and color

and then she shows

how to stack ‘em

“like that”

and in the space

of that

my past is her present

and I’m amazed

how it rushes back

just

“like that”

TL

Missing

sat there

too long

through three songs

looking out

past the view

beyond the list

of “things to do”

and in the mini mirror

catch a glimpse

of this guy

flying by with his buggy

his black coat

a blanket over his boy

maybe three

he picks him up

and tucks him in his seat

with the black blanket

and puts his parcels in the back

and pushes his buggy

where it belongs

and gets in

and is gone

as if he wasn’t there

a second ago

like that throw-away plate

parked two rows up

and Chesney sings

‘bout the loss

of certain things

TL

Ask

have you

ever tried

to answer

the questions

of a child

and found

yourself unsure

of what to say

how to say it

when to delay it

and in your head

you think

why

why does it have to be

this way

why is the world

in such trouble

why are people in peril

pretending nothing’s wrong

“that it’s just the way it is”

why can’t we see

past our plate

the checks we write

the doors we darken

the corners we pass

are we a self-propelling population

was that a person

we just passed

why is he standing

like that

why is she walking

that way

are they in pain

what is that

TL

Fifth Masters

no more so

than yourself

in your ear

an echo

in your heart

the truth

what is great

in anyone

is not a trophy

a cover or a coat

the intangible

is what separates

the good

and the great

and no one

can tell you

which is which

less you let them

don’t let them

just be

TL

Working

the soap

on the sink

shrinks

and shrinks

to make

a bowl of suds

for hurried hands

in need of gloves

devoid of soil

spit and oil

clear of can’t

and won’t

free of salt and sugar

spilt milk

and cracked eggs

a burn that bled

red and red

run the water

run it right

‘til it runs clear

and moonlit bright

like a lake

in summer

slow to speak

pew reposed

an unhurried verse

Frost wrote

TL