TAMARA BELKO - POEMS

Tamara Belko is a writer, poet, middle school teacher and author of the forthcoming young adult verse novel, Perchance to Dream. She resides in Rocky River, Ohio with her husband and three children. When Tamara isn’t absorbed in reading or writing, she can be found listening to music with her family, enjoying a walk or learning Thai Chi. 

ALL IT TOOK

An artery 
A tear
blood pooled 
my heart shuddered

Breath stolen, body paused, 
I couldn’t comprehend
why
the sweet snuffles of my newborn 
eradicated by sirens

Sweating postpartum hormones, 
shedding pieces of myself
in a cardiac ward 
I was the
youngest

Breasts swollen, 
desperate to hold 
my baby 

An aberration
I had become a case study, the
1 -4 %  club 
between 30 and 50 
I didn’t want to 
join

At home a new reality, 
taste bile 
of tacit fear
kiss my babies
goodnight, 
pray tomorrow
I will see Earth’s star 
in the East 
after closing my eyes 
to it setting in the West

It will be years of mornings-after 
before my obsessive worry, 
insomnia filled nights 
recede 
to the silent corners of my mind, 
where I hush
the whisper warnings
unclench 
fists of anxiety, 
one 
finger
at a time 
until I am 
immersed in the moment ...
of life’s milestones, 
Until I release 
control of the uncontrollable
breathe in life, 
drink in the elixir 
of laughter
finally
barefoot and unbound

 ​

MY LOST RELIGION

I turn from vapid religion & embrace spirituality
         discover connection within humanity’s
         touch, seek meaning in life & love
          walk with,
          among neighbors
          who all bleed red
I turn from doctrine & archaic cannon
         millennials of distortion derived from parables
         & frail men with dysfunctional connections to now
No man will rule over my body! No man will rule over my daughters!
           I turn from oppressive, archetypal figures
           & black days mired in hypocrisy
They will not have my devotion
            I will not subscribe to hatred and judgement
             I denounce that history!
This day I will turn towards peace and purpose,
          light and hope, open my heart to the Earth’s symphony
          I will spread compassion, love and acceptance &
          realize oneness with the universe

​

SIMPLE CONVERSATIONS

        she’s a self professed enigma,
         smirks at her own eclectic musical palate,
         straddling between Billie Eilish and Twenty-One Pilots,
                 she can entertain that conversation with middle school aplomb
         she sinks her teeth into the “ring of fire” on Friday,
          morphs into an old soul on Sunday crooning Sinatra “her way”
                              Today she wears a tie and fedora.
A simple conversation
        Strictly speaking, country is not her thing … 
             the guy, 
                   the dog,
                   the truck, 
                   whiskey-- nope,
                    but 
                    there IS the Man in Black ...
        And musing about rap doesn’t ignite the spark either
                    Too fast,
                     Too much rhyme,
                       Why so angry?
A simple conversation,
                                  ruminating about music.


​

SPACE

​Breathe
 just breathe
 in this space
 growing between
 spaces of silence
 connections squandered
 reborn in the restfulness
 cherish moments of family
 frantic lives no longer remember
 how to live still, how to breath in this world