In celebration of National Poetry Month, I am inviting several poet friends to join me in my daily endeavor of paying poetic attention to the world. This week I am humbled and thrilled to be sharing the practice with my dear friend TC Tolbert, who was recently named the Poet Laureate of Tucson, AZ.  TC often identifies as a trans and genderqueer feminist, collaborator, dancer, and poet but really s/he’s just a human in love with humans doing human things. Find out more and follow him here.

when i’m lost, i go
look at the sky,
then get mad at all that
tetherless space.
later, i take my cumbersome wideness
try to stuff it back into
my ill-fitting clothes.
*
can i look at a thing
with no demands.
let go of wanting
anything from it-
answers, directions,
the unsolicited
name we gave it.
*
if i say beacon
can it also mean
i don’t know
how to fix this?

photo and poem by katherine ferrier ©2017Tonight, I need
a smaller
picture
frame – I love
you reaching –
to pray
is to learn
to use the word
symphysis –
un-
knowledge is
the edge of every
promise that I’ve made
to you – you
who are my favorite
part of night –

photo and poem by TC Tolbert ©2017