Tori Dreamer

Under

Sometimes I sit in silence
Hoping for my breath
to return
to normal
For calm
to come
For a smile
to creep ever so slowly across my face

For hours it seems
I wait in vain
Hoping that
I’ve not
forgotten
how to
be me
The girl I knew all those years ago

Pressure

Tori Burris Inkley
4/15/26

Don’t laugh
I’m stuck outside
Forgot my keys again
How many times have I done this?
Countless!

Tori Burris Inkley
4/14/26
(*In Cinquain form)

Dented fender
No time for coffee
Chipped nail
Wrong shoes

Called for jury
Dog chewed new sofa
Team lost
Flat tire

Trip was cancelled
Still stuck in traffic
More rain
Missed bus

On and on
All the problems
Spiraling quickly
Every day

Yet, let me ask,
in my motherly voice,
Really problems?
Or mere inconveniences?

For on the list
I see no war,
no death,
no abandonment

I see no tears,
no hunger
no sickness
or pain

Shall we reserve the “problems”
for the disenfranchised,
the “others”,
the homeless?

The people of color,
or those who are “different”?
The non-English speakers,
the elderly or frail?

I ask of you only this…

If you sleep tonight with a belly full,
your loved ones safe and sound,
a roof over your head and a few dollars
(or more) in your pocket…

Can you kneel and pray for those with real problems?

Tori Burris Inkley
4/13/26

What a set
A lovely pair
Eyes of blue
And golden hair
Young, in love
Paths wide open
World is theirs
At least they’re hopin’
Friends will come
And share their glee
Bonded for
Eternity
Facing life
Together now
Times get hard
But then somehow
Skies turn blue
They’re not done yet
Holding tight
Oh, what a set.

Tori Burris Inkley
4/12/26

Housing 
Our
Unique
Stuff
Everywhere

Various
Entities
Relating
Sometimes
Under
Shelter

Hearts
Overflowing,
Memories
Everywhere

Tori Burris Inkley
4/11/26

There was a Mini Me
Just as tiny as could be
Who loved to sing and dance and entertain

One day the Mini Me
Couldn’t find an ounce of glee
And she wept, because she never would complain

That’s when the Mini Me
Understood she wasn’t free
And she worried that one day she’d go insane

And so, the Mini Me,
Resolved to find the key,
Buckled down and began to use her brain

And when the Mini Me
Realized she should just be
She promised to never settle or refrain

Then lo, the Mini Me
Underwent a growing spree
And was never known as Mini Me again

Tori Burris Inkley
4/10/26

Buds scream from the trees
and flowers fight to be released from earth
as temps rise and dip, rise and dip.
Spring is here, but not here.

Soft light cuts the dark
and coffee promises to work its wonders
as eyes open and shut, open and shut.
Morning is here, but not here.

Gliding through the room
and catching her reflection staring back
as thoughts come and go, come and go.
She is here, but not here.

Voices cry in fear
and masked enforcers gladly strike again
as people appear and disappear, appear and disappear.
Justice is here, but not here.

Here, but not here…

Tori Burris Inkley
4/9/26

I hear them coming,
Twirling
Swirling
All around the world is whirling
All the while the plan unfurling
Mankind’s fabric needs some burling
Hate and slander always hurling
Gold replaces all the sterling
Those nearby continue curling

And now we what…
Wait?

Tori Burris Inkley
4/8/26

Morning light appears
With all its promise
Its joy
Its surplus of possibility

And for a few brief hours
You hold its promise
Relish its joy
Embrace its possibility

And then the wait begins…
For the quiet
The release
The darkness

Evening time arrives
And you hold its quiet
Relish its release
Embrace its darkness

And then the wait begins…

Tori Burris Inkley
4/7/26

It washes over me again before the sun opens her eyes.
The downpour is torrential
and no amount of planning could’ve prepared me.

Whether it rains softly
or in buckets,
these showers are unwelcome.

I try to float
To wait it out
To sink into my own rhythm 

This bath is neither hot nor cold
No warmth or chill
Just here… and heavy

Tori Burris Inkley
4/6/26