June 2019 – Tori Dreamer

June 24, 2019February 5, 2020

All Yours

Be at peace, dear child
Let the grass tickle your toes
and the sun warm your shoulders
This life is yours
All yours
Only yours

The laughter
The love
The tears
The heartache
All yours

Do not shy away from the hard times, dear child
For those are the times you discover who you are
The laughter and the joy are magnificent
But in the salt of your tears you are found

Use every moment of this beautiful life, dear child
To learn to stand on your own
And if while standing, you discover how to run,
Or to fly,
Or to just breathe,
Then every single tear was worth it.

Tori Burris Inkley
6/24/19

June 22, 2019February 6, 2020

I love early mornings.
The quiet semi-slumber of the world…
Birds using their morning voices,
as the chipmunks run and play without worry.
Fresh air, dew on the lawn, light breeze…
and quiet.
This time is lost on those who hate mornings,
rushing to work,
cursing their schedules,
running behind…
I know.
I’ve been there.
Still am sometimes.
But as the grass tickles my toes
And the sunlight hits my shoulders,
I realize… I just may be a “morning person”.

And shhhhhhh…
I’m okay with that.

Tori Burris Inkley
6/22/16

June 19, 2019February 6, 2020

Blue

like the ocean
like the sky
like my 1976 celica after an old boyfriend dented and scratched it and I had it repainted

like a carolina tarheel
like my favorite light sweater
like the eyes of my oldest daughter when she was an infant in her great-grandfather’s arms

like a sapphire
like berries for sal
like suede shoes in the 60s that you had to stay off of

like a jay in the trees
like the moon of kentucky
like eyes crying in the rain

like midnight
like dress uniforms
like a slurpee at your local 7-11

like marge simpson’s hair
like the body of an avatar
like a lonely fall weekend with a cold wind blowing and no motivation to be found

Tori Burris Inkley
6/25/16

June 18, 2019February 6, 2020

Shuffling Thoughts

In the cool morning air I sit
Half awake and full of questions
Longing for quiet relaxation
On a beach perhaps?
Or a mountain peak?
The clouds cover me and the trees embrace me ever so gently.
The day is young, but I am not.
Caught between mother, daughter, wife, friend, self…
Shuffling thoughts and prioritizing
Waiting for clarity
Longing for peace
Begging for strength…

Life is funny.
Life is cruel.
Life is beautiful.

And here I sit… shuffling thoughts.

Tori Burris Inkley
8/20/18