Dr John Samuel Tieman was born in 1950. His award winning chapbook, "A Concise Biography Of Original Sin", is published by BkMk Press. His poetry has appeared in "The Americas Review", "The Caribbean Quarterly", “The Chariton Review”, "The Iowa Review", "Rattle", "River Styx" and “Stand”. His poetry also has appeared internationally in translation. Tieman is a widely published essayist and translator. He is a regular contributor to the online magazine, “Vox Populi”. He lives in St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States.
Simplicity
Walking across the office
you recall the day you arrived
the air clear
millions of windows now
you know the way it goes
the crowd, spare change
So there's no end
to the indistinct mountains
the arts, cross-walks
nights you sit on the bed
and watch
a stream of traffic
Then once again suddenly
not quite depressed you remember
how different this is
the place names in Spanish
the lover
who made you stay
And you knowing the slope
overgrown with tin roofs
know miles away
a man carving a mask
stares straight at you
Mexico City, '85
Analyst
first thing this morning
the kitchen table
her short black hair
mostly combed
her "Sunday Times" open
to something she sets aside
she makes notes
about desire and the revival
of a Chekhov play
she redefines desire
makes it her own
quotes Freud then considers
Lacan and underlines again
a line she already underlined
thus begins the article
she will write
and rewrite until it leaves
her the way the words
and lines leave her
first thing this morning
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