April 2022
Bio Note: These poems will appear in my upcoming chapbook, Along the Fault Line by Picture Show Press. It's all about growing up in the Coachella Valley and it's coming out very soon!
¡Colese, Colá!
Patty taught me how to lie, how to hide from the teacher and knock using rocks on the kindergarten door. Patty taught me how to say “You ain’t the boss of me!” how to pull a hair from my arm so we could become blood sisters. Patty showed me the place where her dad kicked in the door. We colored in books ’til our knuckles turned purple-green. We shared our lunch on the see-saw. We decided to speak Spanish because everybody else did and she made up the words I’ll never forget: ¡Colese, Colá! I missed her when she moved back to Alaska but there she was again in the seventh grade — friendly, plump and warm as sunshine with a garland of hickeys circling her neck.
Child Writer
Beyond the dark window quake-wrinkled hills recline under moonlight A few stars wink An owl hoots Coyotes on the dunes sing a scratchy song From the living room the Bonanza theme taps at my ear I sit cozy at my desk with paper, pen, and an idea.
©2022 Tamara Madison
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