Dana Teen Lomax: California Poets Part 7, Three Poems

Dana Teen Lomax

July 1st, 2024

California Poets: Part VII

Dana Teen Lomax

Three Poems

-upward-mobility-

the-in-between- of-upward- mobility-the- brookings- institute-man- said-property- ownership-is-the- main-way- wealth-is- passed-down- and-it-turned-out- that-when-my- mom-died-i- could-buy-a- home-she-never- wanted-to- borrow-against- hers-so-she- could-leave-you- kids-something- now-i-see-she- knew-exactly- what-she-was- doing-just-today- the-roomba- arrived-to-clean- this-house’s- floors-and-i-felt- so-bougie-but-a- friend-of-mine- said-if-there’s- an-infomercial- for-a-product-it’s- not-that-bougie- he-went-to-dartmouth-

-gender-and-all-

the-in-between- of-gender-and- all-the-shit- people-buy- trying-to-uphold- it-yes-my-biology- announced-itself- as-a-baby-turned-inside- me-and-i-lay- down-on-the- floor-in-target- while-steve- picked-out-our- shotgun- wedding-registry- i-was-exhausted- from-building-a- skeleton-the- fetal-brain- grows-at-close- to-250,000- nerve-cells-per- minute-i-think-of- the-ways-i- conditioned-our- child-listing-who-i- had-hoped-our offspring-would-become- thankfully-the- woman-at-e’s- holiday-party-hit- me-saying-who- in-the-actual-hell- do-you-think- you-are-

-the-texts-we-send-

the-in-between- of-the-texts-we- send-each-other- is-everything- ok?-we-type-if- the-other-hasn’t- answered-back- right-away-or- moved-to-call-all- good-we-write- despite-the-(and- this-is-a-partial- list)-heart- flutters-horse- accident- addiction-akin-to- a-betrayal- aneurysm- deathbed-copd- nebulizers-and- o2-tanks-the- manilla- envelope- suicide-autopsy- report-kidney- cancer- diagnosis-with- thank-god- indolent- chromophobe- liver-lesion- surgery-and- lupus-flare-silent- old-folks-home- demise-loud-trill- at-the- incinerator- button-our-arms- around-each- other-as-the- fires-burned-her- body-in-the-east- indian-tradition- policeman-at -the-door-the- only-thing-he- could-have- done-differently- was-the-choice- of-the-car-two- teenagers-in-a- hospital-bed-the- infusion- machine’s- circular-gears- big-hands-later- it-became-clear- genetics- tobacco-and- miller-lite- snatched-her- away-pandemic- covid-test-pcr- shut-ins-your- grandparents- gone-your-first- cousin-gone-my- favorite-cousin- gone-your- godmother-and- my-best-friend- gone-all-good- we-say-the- momentary- relief-a- sanctuary-we- hold-tighter- what-we-know- will-fall-from-us- eventually-while- the-anxiety- swirls-in- morning-coffee- and-afternoon- naps-digestion- that’s-always- askew-you-send- me-a-poem-by- vona-groarke- that-ends-with- the-boats-play- their-moorings- like-spoons-

Author Bio:

Dana Teen Lomax is a multi-genre artist and an activist. She is the author of several poetry books and numerous chapbooks. About her last editorial project, THE BEAUTIFUL: Poets Reimagine a Nation, Juan Felipe Herrera writes, “Each author here, each photograph here, each moment here can change your life. Another of Dana’s editorial works Kindergarde: Avant-garde Poems, Plays, Stories, and Songs for Children (Black Radish Books), was awarded a San Francisco Creative Work Fund Grant and won the 2014 Johns Hopkins University Press Lion and Unicorn Prize for Excellence in North American Poetry. With Jennifer Firestone, she edited Letters to Poets: Conversations About Poetics, Politics, and Community (Saturnalia), which Cornel West called a “courageous and visionary book.” Dana's writing has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, published and reviewed internationally, named among the Guerilla Girls’ favorite poetry books, and received grants and awards from Intersection for the Arts, the Academy of American Poets, the California Arts Council, the San Francisco Foundation, the Marin Arts Council, Banff Arts Center, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and others. Lomax collaborates with artists from all over the country, has taught writing in libraries, schools, prisons, and universities, has served as the Human Rights and Equity Chair for her teachers’ union, and lives in southern California. Dana’s writing, editorial work, and short films can be found at danateenlomax.com.