Tori Dreamer

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

A mother’s arms
wrapped tightly around this little body
Tears subside and eventually morph
into the rhythmic breathing of a child
once again at peace

As she places him gently on his bed
Her own tears fall unannounced
She sits for a moment
Crying silently
Knowing his safety won’t always lie in her hands

Tori Burris Inkley
4/5/26

I stare into her face
and wonder if we’re still friends
We’ve known each other a lifetime
Grown up together
Laughed and cried together
But sometimes when I lean in
and I look into her eyes
I barely recognize her as someone I was ever close to

Tethered together always on this journey
But are we still friends?
We’re older (I refuse to say “old”)
Hair is grey
Face is lined from years of laughing
… and crying

I can’t escape her
and I so try to love her
But are we still friends?
And does she feel the same?
Does she recognize me?
Or even want to see me anymore?

We still spend time together each day
Although the moments are brief
Sandwiched between obligations and exhaustion
We used to sit together for hours
Smiling, laughing, thinking about our future
We would role play
and put on makeup
Brush hair
and practice being “grown up”
… until we were

And now I wonder as I look at her
Are we still friends?

Tori Burris Inkley
4/4/26

Windows
Doors
Homes
         … to spring

Hearts
Minds
Eyes
         … to humanity

Tori Burris Inkley
4/3/26

Fasting 
Blasting
Hurried
Scurried
Just no time for being worried

Sprinting
Printing 
Typing
Piping
Can’t stop now, I’m over-hyping

Running
Gunning
Pacing
Racing
Quickly please, no need for tracing

Writing
Fighting
Ranking
Planking
In a rush, forget the thanking

Beating
Fleeting
Shopping
Hopping
Day is done, and now I’m dropping

Tori Burris Inkley
4/2/26

Do you ever grow weary of always being “on”?
Always shining bright?
Always bringing warmth to others?

Do you ever wish you could play at night?
Dance under the stars?
Laugh with friends by the glow of a fire?

Do you ever want to close your eyes?
Just take a break?
Sleep on pillows as soft as clouds?

Or have you accepted your fate?
Your past, present, future
Painted on that glow
That we see each day…
Unless the clouds decide to hold you prisoner

Tori Burris Inkley
4/1/26

Some semblance of humanity is waiting there
Nestled, warm and snug inside its shell
Floating in the before
Unaware of its future
Unacknowledging of its past

The day will come when it will emerge
Revealing to the world its existence
Its true nature
Its heart
Its being

For everyone
I pray it’s not too late.

Tori Burris Inkley
4/1/26

Who are these people that I once knew…

Who raise a cross
To suffering and loss
At the tiny hands
Of a “mafia boss”

Whose rainbow colors
Are white and whiter
Who mistake a bully
For an actual fighter

Who bend a knee
To the golden cow
But refuse to see
The here and now

Who claim to support 
The greater good
Then hide beneath
An invisible hood

Who preach and post
While holding a book
But can’t be bothered
To take a look
At the sins of a man
Who proudly boasts 
From a Golden House
While playing host
Shouting madness 
Near and far
(“I’m ending wars!”)
(“Bad girl in car!”)

Who stand behind
Police cosplay
“Turn off your phone!”
“Do what I say!”
“I wear a mask,
You must obey!”

Who choose to see
Through filtered eyes
And can’t discern 
The truth from lies

Who fall in line
Yet say they’re free
Same as
Deutschland ‘33

Who quickly send
A prayer and thought
But refuse to learn
The lessons taught
On slavery, fascism,
Defying the crown
None of it matters
If your skin is brown

Who seem unable
To follow the money
And become outraged
At a really Good Bunny

Who won’t discuss
A certain Isle
And laugh when girls
Are told to smile

Who place the blame
On all but him
Refusing to
Remove the scrim
Refusing to 
Observe behavior 
While worshipping 
Some mortal “savior”

Who are these people that I once knew?

Or should I ask
Who are YOU?