Yarning with Tom

    by Lavinia Kumar

The young man sat by the sea

on the “In Memoriam” bench

for his buddy Tom, yarning with him

floating by on a small cloud just in and out of sight,

bantering a bit, recalling furious fights,

that Tom was teased as “baldy”

while they fished for bass,

and Tom dunked his friends

in the waves between fishing lines

not minding he was dying.

Now what is Tom sayin’?

Oh – yes, yes – behind the reeds

on the dunes - we’d be smokin’ -

doncha remember that night of all nights

when our muscles were screechin’

and we raced and sailed

our feet flew on the sand

with confidence bubbling - high-fivin’.

It was a really small group

of muscles rippling together, tight

as they’d sat on that soggy sand

and tried all they could not to cry.

Tom said right in the midst of beers

surrounded by his pals

that his piss-funny brain

was growing a tumor out of sight,

but it was never out of their minds

they could see words knitting together

swinging out to the wind,

morsels of conversation as clouds in time.

© 2013  Lavinia Kumar

Lavinia Kumar’s poetry has appeared in several US and UK publications, including Atlanta Review, Colere, Edison Literary Review, Flaneur, and Orbis.  Her chapbook, Rivers of Saris, is to be published by Main Street Rag in February 2013.  She writes a weekly blog for Seniors Magazine and is administrator of the US1Poets website.  She is an editor of children’s poetry at PoetryWITS.