The Beginning

 Jonathan was the youngest of his friend group
He was also the tallest
and the only black man
His small group played Back Alley Bridge,
a card game that has traveled as far
and wide as you can shuffle a deck

Bill needed one year person to complete the teams
for the game

and what better person than his little sister, Mar?

Mar had an apartment on Gladys Avenue next
to the Catacombs Club

She had two young sons and
their father, under a separate roof

When Bill and Jonathan arrived to play cards
and Mar opened the door,

they all greeted and Jonathan exclaimed,

" Bill, you didn't tell me you had a sister this fine"

They proceeded to play cards and little did anyone know that
that would be the first of many card games
between them and Back Alley Bridge would
continue to travel down the generational line 

~Tina Meeks

I Think I'm Falling

 

Questions, placed on the back burner to marinate in 

what has been made 

and these moments contain 

the many layers of magnitude portrayed

from your eyes in the sun

That must have been a ripple in attraction and 

a tall tale that has stained the inner eyelids of 

every complicated hesitation within my complexion,

like the perplexed grieving boy we, for some reason, cherish

~Tina Meeks

Another Beautiful Day

 

The stage is set at sunset, marrying dusk
The colors of the sky are the colors of a blood orange
and faded denim jeans
Telling a story of how the colors bleed
peacefully and melt into the sea
Pleading to see each other for a moment more
and little do they know that for as long as they want,
they create this moment again day after day
They will modestly liquefy together and become introduced to the night

~Tina Meeks

Yarn

The table in the living room had a glossy sheen, popping out compared the brown carpet underneath
With a pattern I used to make believe they were oddly shaped feet,
and covering up early 20th century original hardwood flooring,

just a few feet over musty dirt

On the surface, the brown table had cabinets on either side
to house trinkets and candles and other homie items,

like VHS tapes that we watched over and over

Viewing as many movies as our eyes have blinked, the table's heart held yards of cat's cradle yarn

which we had recreated 100 times

One in every color that was available

Some, we attempted to assemble with three colors at once

Endless strands intertwining and forever bonded at the knot.

only to be shoved back into collection

only to later be cut into pieces or discarded

~Tina Meeks

The Nerve

 

I gotta admit, I didn't have high hopes.

I had high energy in the elevated state

when captivated by the possibilities

of our two halves pressed together.

The nerve I had

to think me special

above anyone else.

-that I could dazzle a person with a shimmer.

~Tina Meeks

You're Not So Good at Dates

 I'm sick of remembering and knowing full well

that I am not even the lowest rung on your ladder.

I'm merely a splinter you choose to ignore

along the way to the top.

~Tina Meeks

Oregon House

 

Thanks goodness there's no one around to witness

how I inspect places I go

for unclean surface and a missed opportunity

for disinfectant.

Maybe I'm not the only 

quirky person and maybe 

I'll never know,

because I am 200 miles away from home 

for no real reason and

love my solitude as much as I miss

my hand being held.

~Tina Meeks