Poetry & Prose
When I was about 12 years old, there was this other black girl selling freshly squeezed lemonade in my neighborhood. She was selling each cup for $1. My dad gave me some money and told me to buy 2 cups of lemonade from her. So I did (even though I wasn’t thirsty, wasn’t particularly fond of any drink aside from water, and it was also rare to see my dad drink lemonade). But I did it. I went up to her stand and bought 2 cups.
Yesterday, I woke up in good spirits. I had an interview Downtown that I was feeling pretty good about. It was a corporate interview so I did my best to dress corporate. Black slacks. Button up. Navy blue tie and a gold tie clip. Nothing fancy.
An egg yoke
A dollop of white sugar
A broken scissor blade
Double palm strips
Coconut oil
I stare at painted ceilings, I stare at parting clouds
Confined to thoughts of interchanging forms
Your skin and cheeks when you walked through my elementary school doors
Determined to not let sickness stop you
Warrior goddess—Mother
That’s what I’ll do
I will live! I will love
I will live for her
It stung that day
to overhear a woman complaining
about a fat bellied pig
to another in the park
as I walked by
It will never appear
in the retro candy store
among 5th Avenue bars
Somewhere the bell tolls yet the Lady stands so tall
She stands the test of time as a testament to us all
Wars have come and gone but she never seems to fall
She welcomes one and all in defiance to a border wall
Sometimes, I stop. I know I shouldn’t, I should keep moving, head down, eyes down, back down, hunched, picking and pulling. But sometimes I need to stop. I see you in my mind. Tiny and warm. I remember kissing you on your forehead and holding you tight to my bare breast. I couldn’t give you anything else. There was none I could give except my body.
Every day is an anniversary of something.
The longer you live, the more there is
to celebrate and
to mourn.
The mockingbird builds her nest in the tall oak tree
Singing her song, always so happy and free
Back and forth she flies never stopping to rest
It must be safe, it must be the best
Like us
from foreign shores
Seen as far as Asia,
and Trafalgar Square
Dovecote culture in old Egypt
Others followed the grain.
Some assembled with
indigenous black birds.
When the winds blowing from the north are warm, no longer cold.
When stories that were passed around campfires are seldom ever told.
When freedom isn't for all, on trading blocks our rights are bought and sold.
When youth have no reason to believe, so quickly they grow old.
Eve Packer continues her photojournalistic exploration of New York (and her own emotional interior landscape) in these spare, eloquent poems. Many of the poems have dates, and some are even time-stamped, giving the impression of journal entries. In this way Packer marks events in the news, the seasons, the deaths of friends, and the closing of mom-and-pop businesses with a nod to the passing of time—a reassuring constant when so much else seems to be in flux.
On June 19, 1986, I was home from college and taking a history class in the summer session at the local junior college in my hometown. It was around 7:30 p.m. and the instructor was lecturing about the importance of the civil war. Yada yada yada… I simply didn’t feel like being there. So after a few minutes had passed, I got up from my seat and quietly walked out of the room. I went to my mother’s house, which is where I stayed in the summer awaiting the fall semester to begin. I arrived at home to find a note on the kitchen table from my mother.
Waters of many hues,
a sky painted by atmospherics
and clouds, and setting sun,
and emotions run wild.
Symbols of tarot
Lay out their meaning to be deciphered
Collapsing hopes on paper cards
I denied any meaning
Poetry, to me, is emotion or experience manifested in its most candid form. It is artistic expression so honest that only one sequence of words, thoughtfully and meticulously arranged, can express it. And though the content of its expression might be weakness, or embarrassment or fear or imperfection, the expression is perfect in itself. In this way, in this honest, perfect imperfection, my mother exemplifies poetry.
Fun now
to encounter unusual birds,
for here,
in the parks.
At sixteen, he hammers
black stones
to fit over breasts,
to bless the new wine
I mourn for my mother, like Demeter
created seasons with grief
a daughter makes Hades fill the role
he will never be as gentle
Every where I go
Voila! There I am.
Making a mess.
Can't even give a compliment
Without pissing off
Some insecure housewife.
All About Being Rescued
As our minds travel in the same direction,
back to the same scene,
back to the moment of laughing out loud.
Traveling to the exact same place,
where we both knew just
what the other one meant.
I see you now
from Brooklyn
and on the train, larger
than green lady liberty.
Tasting of Hurricane
At sixteen, he hammers
black stones
to fit over breasts,
to bless the new wine
tasting of hurricane.
Paint brushes
how many times my mind wanders,
Journeys, to thoughts of you
Memories that at times fail me
Jacitation
Jacitation
Jacitation
and no Amelioration
Fun now
to take the late train in the evening
Sort of an evening out
even if one is going home.
is probably an athlete,
or dancer--tall, slim easy
in her limbs as she rubs