Poem by T. A. Niles

The Planter

He knows a thing or two
          about edibles emerging tentatively
          from trampled earth from tilled earth
          from earth that lies dormant
          until impregnation of seed
          until saturation of life’s liquid
          until the warm bright gleam penetrates
          the fleeing darkness

He knows about planting
          planting seeds in soil rich or barren
          on hills swept clean while wind whistles
          near streams that gush or trickle
          ​on desertscapes bereft of promise
          in skyscraper gardens and rural enclaves
          of the lost and forgotten

Yes. He knows about planting
          planting ideas that curl and spiral up
          from smokey inspiration
          spaced just so…
          so they can breathe, can stretch
          their ephemeral limbs
          before settling in
          to the hard work of feeding
          minds and spirits…

He knows their gripping pangs
          their clenching their yearning
          gaping maws reminiscent of avarice
          yet are more kin to need not greed…
          when you dive into the depths
          penetrate into the core of things
          what’s required is sustenance
          not comeuppance

He knows beyond the power of gray matter
          and questing tendrils
          knows somehow in his marrow
          in his molecules that prickle
          all the way to skin,
          from corns and callouses to follicles
          that mere morsels can serve
          as understudies for feasts

He knows that his heart beats
          his blood flows, his neurons fire
          in replication of all who breathe
          have breathed
          will breathe…
          their hues as salient as dandruff
          ​on a white jacket

T. A. was a seed planted in the Caribbean soil of Trinidad & Tobago on the cusp of the transformational 60s. He was watered and fertilized in the gardens of Brooklyn, New York and Hartford, Connecticut throughout most of the bell-bottomed, “blaxploitation-movie-era” of the 70s. Had trials by fire in the USMC in the late 70s to early 80s. Budded and bloomed in academia in the 80s and 90s, before his withering began at the turn of the 21st century. Yet, before he falls from the stem, and is ground once more into dust, he hopes to feed a mind or two. He relishes the thought of others being nourished by his expressions. T. A. is also thrilled to have narrated Mud Ajar, the latest collection of poems penned by Poetry X Hunger's founder Hiram Larew and made available to the public by Atmosphere Press.

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