Cut and Shuffle

For Christy....

Cut and Shuffle

Riding in your car
Nothing to be said
I know what you're thinking though.

"NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT!"
"That bed stays here, I bought it."

We are so much alike.
I feel us talking through closed lips.

"By the way, that's my dresser too!"
"My futon as well-I have all the receipts."

You look at me from the corner of your
Partially closed, slanted eyes.

"YOU'RE REALLY PISSING ME OFF!"
"DON'T TALK BACK TO ME LIKE THAT!'

I look back the same way,
As if I'm seeing myself in a looking glass.

"WAIT!"
"Don't go...."
"I will miss you WAY too much!"

My heart melts
We smile

"I love you so much"
"I'm going to miss you, Kid".....

My heart breaks.

Written By Tammy Davis
September 15, 2005

The "ME" in the Mirror

The "ME" in the Mirror

I look Close,
Even Closer,
But I cannot see
Me in the mirror.

I know I am there,
I barely see the dark pupils of my eyes
And I wonder why
I cannot see
Me in the mirror

I put on make up
everyday
Curl my hair,
Pluck my brows
But I cannot see
Me in the mirror.

I strain my eyes
Stare even harder
But I still cannot see
ME in the mirror.

I want to know
What people see
when they see
Me outside of the mirror

What am I like?
The child in me.
The torn, Beaten soul.
Looking much older
Dying to see

The child I used to be,
That time....
and only time
Has taken.
Like a thief
from the one I see....

ME IN THE MIRROR.

Written By Tammy Davis
August 31, 2004

Everybody, Somebody, Nobody and Anybody

EVERYBODY, SOMEBODY, NOBODY, and ANYBODY.

Once upon a time there were four people
Their names were
Everybody, Somebody, Nobody and Anybody
Whenever there was an important job to be done,
Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.
Anybody could have done it, But Nobody did it.
When Nobody did it,
Everybody got angry because it was Everybody's job.
Everybody thought that Somebody would do it, But
Nobody realized that Nobody would do it.

SO....consequently,
Everybody blamed Somebody
When Nobody did what Anybody could have done
In the first place!


Tammy Davis
2003

The Gift......

The Gift You Gave to Me

I never wanted to marry
It scared me to be ruled.
I never wanted children
But eventually there were the two of you.

The gift you gave to me
Was something I thought I'd never have.
I'll never forget the first sight of you're big dark eyes,
Searching to connect with mine.
I knew at that moment I was given a gift,
I never thought I'd have.

I knew at the moment you saw your sister born,
The love that filled your face.
That I gave YOU a gift
You thought you'd never have.


I'll never forget the little girl
All wrapped up in a warm blanket,
With a stub sock on your tiny head for a hat.
I knew right then I was given the SECOND gift,
I thought I'd never have.

Written By Tammy Davis
2004
Inspired by my two gifts that I love
with all my heart.

The Purple Shack

The Purple Shack

Square and purple
Sometimes empty with dust balls
Rolling around, like sage rolling through an empty desert
Now filled with clothes strung out.
Like a bricked lined block in Harlem
Washed and wrinkled clothes, hanging from one side of the dingy building to the other......
Layers of bodies, like a cat house waiting, on a hot summer night for the right John to enter with a pocket of cash and a
Desire to fill.

A door with a tiny window.
What does it keep out?
Or Keep in?
When anyone with height and legs long enough could peek over to see the secrets my friends think they might hide...

But, I see in their eyes and their smirking half smiles
That they really do have secrets....

They exit shyly, timidly, sometimes with almost a hint of embarrassment.
I want to know that secret

Only I don't want to live in the shack,
The Purple Shack.

Written by Tammy Davis
2004
Inspired by a make shift room
for overcrowding at the
Dale Correctional Facility for women
in Waterbury, VT.

Do the Crime, Do the Time.

Do the Crime, Do the Time.

Who's crime?
Who's time?
My time
Your time
If you did your own time
Your shit wouldn't be in mine
Lying, stealing shiesty ass hoe
Talkin' shit, acting all that.......

"AS IF!"

As if you ever done the shit
Your flappin` lips are moving about!

"IT AIN'T REAL!"

You're makin` up over 3/4ths of the bullshit.
You ain't nothin` but a sleazy ass hoe
Thinkn` your all caught up in the game
When in all reality,
You don't even know how to play the game you know nothin bout.

Whatever!
Sit
Down
Shut
Up
And
Hang on!

Cause it's gonna be a longer ride than you ever expected,
Cause you're only game is your ..........

IGNORANCE!



Written by Tammy Davis

Dale Correctional Facility

May 2004
Thanks for the inspiration Pam Yandow.