BIO
Eclectic artist and poet Tamara G. Saliva a native New Yorker by way of Brooklyn and now The Bronx. She is a self-published author, self-taught artist and the president of Simple Treasures Gifts and Things. Tamara uses a variety of material and imagination to release creative energy. She has been published in the anthology Mujeres, The Magic, The Movement and The Muse and has performed her poetry on various stages throughout the tri-state area. Her deeply personal first book of poetry titled Blue Vein Pages published in 2013 can be found on Amazon.com.
Capture//
Indispensable
Devices at our fingertips
Capture//
Images of good times
make memories to revisit
Capture//
Life
in its rawest
purest
most vulnerable form
Capture//
Death
Bullets released
into young Black boy bodies
Black male torsos hitting asphalt
beneath crushing knees
last breath calling for Momma
Capture//
Uniforms
wrapped in white egos
ripping Black women
out of vehicles
hog tying
dropping on floors-
unwanted luggage
Capture//
Black boy joy
Smiles
Laughter
Pouring from innocent bellies
Black and Brown excellence
Proudest
Worthiest
Most loved
wrapped in mother’s fear
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Water
another Black body
removed by the coroner
water finds a way
to wash Red blood stains
from concrete
reflection of a shooter in a
Blue uniform
water finds a way
to remove gunpowder from
White guilty hands
water finds a way to drown
you in their heart ache
overflows from the eyes of
Black families
water finds a way to heal
the void of
a missing Daughter
a missing Mother
a missing Sister
a missing Son
a missing Father
a missing Brother
water finds a way
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Steps To Joy
Eyes open.
Breath on lips.
Be thankful.
Rise from bed.
Stand, Stretch, Walk.
Be thankful.
(Should you
unconsciously
grab your phone-
Put it down.)
Look out window.
Search for sky.
Smile, find it.
Watch clouds.
Clean up.
Get dressed.
Go outside.
Take your phone.
Listen for universe.
whispering on a different
frequency
Listen for laughter.
Take selfie.
Remember,
who you are.