John Samuel Tieman: Pillars
There’s a blaze of light In every word, It doesn’t matter which you heard, The holy or the broken – Hallelujah! Leonard Cohen There were two holy places … Continue reading
John Samuel Tieman: On a Bus in Mexico City
with a profile off an Aztec stelae on the Reforma bus the young mother breastfeeds her baby her modesty barely served by her shawl her breast though perfect is not … Continue reading
John Samuel Tieman: My Lai
March 16, 1968. Fifty years ago, U. S. soldiers killed as many as 504 unarmed Vietnamese civilians. Perhaps the worst war crime in American history. Two years after that, I … Continue reading
Jaime Sabines: Your body by my side
Your body by my side is easy, sweet, quiet. Your head on my chest repents with eyes closed and I look at you and smoke and enamored I caress your … Continue reading
John Samuel Tieman: A Billboard Not Outside Ebbing, Missouri
A few years ago, my wife and I were driving in Franklin County, Missouri. I saw something off the road, and excitedly said to her, “Honey, look — look at … Continue reading
John Samuel Tieman: I’m Done — A Declaration
Last week, a friend encouraged me to be patient with Trump supporters, to continue to dialogue with them. But how do we dialogue with people who view dialogue itself as … Continue reading
John Samuel Tieman: Tell Me
I thought there was a lesson in the river when the current is frozen we do know the ice just waits I want to know what you know about age … Continue reading
John Samuel Tieman: Re-enactment
A friend invited me to a Civil War re-enactment. He was well meaning enough, although why he’d think that I, a Vietnam veteran, would enjoy such a thing, who knows? … Continue reading
John Samuel Tieman: Mi Amigo, Bill Salatino, El Montonero
It was always Bill, pronounced Beel, so Argentine, never Guillermo or Memo. Bill was what you imagine when you picture a Latin America revolutionary. Tall. Handsome. Played the guitar. Leftist … Continue reading
John Samuel Tieman: Strange Angels
the burnt torso of a monk an enemy monk tonight a cigarette glows in the dark and is crushed . I’ve been asked to teach a course in American … Continue reading
John Samuel Tieman: DACA, white people, Offenbach and the flag(s)
This morning, I took down my American flag. I always fly the flag for holidays and such. I like the flag. For one thing, I think it’s pretty, a bit … Continue reading
John Samuel Tieman: How many Fergusons is it going to take?
I am from St. Louis. To be specific, I am from an inner ring suburb, University City. As I write, my community is embroiled in its fourth night of demonstrations … Continue reading
John Samuel Tieman: Elegy For A Painter
beauty is a need
like thirst and sex – that even in the Neolithic,
even in a cave, a man once painted
his own hand and was joined by the hands
of others, you said.
John Samuel Tieman: As Afternoon Darkens into Evening
the words we didn’t say I take a bite of my lunch silence sour and salt This afternoon I sit on my porch, proud of all I’ve won, thinking of … Continue reading
