"Some pictures"

For my first photojournalism assignment, we were told to just take "some pictures"

Tag

The "laundry room" part of our dorm room



Samford Hall in the snow

At Night

At night after the crickets grind
before the heat of the morning reaches us
and somewhere in the middle
when the train drones past

you look at me; stop and face me
with eyes that push past mine
and see through me while soaking in
everything--slowly, at the same time.

When I look back, stare, all I find
is your steadfast trap. No mirror, no
window through your thoughts,
just those earth eyes of yours that

can take away a piece of me
and never leave a drop behind.
That give and take at night with you
makes me drop my curtain every time.

Daddy

Behind a steering wheel
snaking safely on mountain roads
with two of his best friends belted tight
in the backseat.

Stretched out on the couch
of a different friend's house
just so he has time to see everyone
from his hometown.

Leaned back in a chair
tall at the bar he's always at
with the guys, calling and crying
for those not there.

Hugging his kids
the minute he sees them
always smiling, glad they're there
with him, wherever.

Leroy

Leroy 1

He’s a cripple you know; 2

he fell off the leaning tower of Pisa

(that’s in Fwance)3

and now he’s thirsty and

needs a beer4

“lemme borrow three dollars”5

never four and for just one more

and at the end (maybe middle)

of the day 6

when we’ve all come out

of the woodwork to play

crapaoke 7 will start,

he will shout “WHISKEY”8

as “roll tides9” always hang in the air

we might dance, play darts10,

cuss and tell jokes11

but we’ll not cry.

“for there’s fewer tears

and more beers12” when

Leroy is here.13

1 Butchy Hughes

2 a “nursery” rhyme (said with a lisp)

3 no it’s not

4 for Jimmy, thank you Matt

5 Tik (John Houston Berry)

6 you know who you are

7 karaoke in Melisa’s case

8 Sonny Beach and KB

9 War Eagle!

10 Rick, Jesse, and Jen, Kiki, Jim, Nora, and Nicki

11 “Do you like seafood? Eat me, I’ve got crabs.”

"Horse walks into a bar, and the bartender says 'Hey buddy, why the long face?' "

12 credit to Matt Miller

13 In loving memory of Roseberry Pub ‘n Grill and the man behind it all.

The Spit-sweet Fireheart

She didn't always wear her shirts buttoned.
Most of her clothes had zippers anyway;
hoods and thumb holes displayed
what she wante to be, but couldn't.
She was stuck somewhere in the gray.

The forced rebel climbed the vine
of constant chase and ran fast
from her fear of becoming one of anything
and none of everything else. In time
she tired and none of her masks would last.

A few close scathes and none-escapes
from her wolves sent the young gypsy
on to paler, smoother pastures, and from
the woods, in a little red cape
emerged our unique little fairy.

She's fear and independent drive
mixed with goals and a talent to revise.
Finding love in some things and steering
always toward a future that's internally alive,
but she never strikes the same place twice.

Jasper

In a town made of stone slab

With no grass for roaming barefoot,

The sun beats down a little harder,

And the harsh ground is covered in dust.

Among the coal, beneath the haze,

I find a square, marble structure.

The white walls serve as camouflage

Of the calm cool relief found inside.

I wander here, up these chalky stairs,

To find the only wood in the city.

It is stained dark and boards every wall

To keep every inch of gray out.

I find comfort in the gold and green

Rays that filter from the skylight above.

All the warmth found in this village

Is captured within this marble and mortar.

After I’ve tried walking like the stone citizens

And they have shut me out for difference,

I gravitate steadily to this pulsing structure.

It is the only area, here, fit for me.


(2008)