Afternoon Tomatoes: Accessible Poetry

By T.J. Richards and Clarion Reviews

Afternoon Tomatoes is an easy readan accessible, reader-friendly approach to poetry. Uncomplicated, there is no need to search for hidden meaning in the poems of T.J. Richards. His rhythmic tempo propels the reader through stimulating line and distinctly connects him or her to the story-telling cadence of each piece. Among the many subjects of which he writes, the author excels in adventurous travel, real world family dynamics, religious upbringing, drug intervention, grueling weather, simple home life, love of children and animals, and the task of writing itselfall of which are curious, thought-provoking slices of life. His rhyming lines lend lyrical sound to his verse. So sit back and enjoy yourself while reading the poems of T.J. Richards.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Oct 20, 2017
• ISBN: 9781546209577

T.J. Richards

Tim Richards is a former Program 60 Ohio State student and began his sunset years education at Cleveland State University in 2005, while still employed. In 2000 he earned a master of financial services degree from the American College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Following a thirty-four-year career in the insurance business on Clevelands west side, he retired in 2008 and focused his field of study in the arts: creative writing, poetry, screen/playwriting, motion picture film and digital photography. With an associate of arts degree in photography from Los Angeles City College, Tim worked for six years as a commercial photographer prior to becoming an insurance agent. He served in the United States Army (Germany) from 1961-64 as section chief, artillery fire direction, and lives in Olmsted Twp., Ohio, with his artist wife, Betz. They have been married for more than thirty years and have two children and eight grandchildren.

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© 2017 Timothy J. Richards. All rights reserved.

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No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse  01/24/2018

ISBN: 978-1-5462-0958-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-0956-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-0957-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017914536

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

ALSO BY T. J. RICHARDS

Buggy

A Fictional Account of Generational Family Abuse

Ship Happens!

A Tiger Cruise Tale or

How to Spend Six Nights on a Navy Warship for $70

The Richards and Barry Families

The Genealogical and Personal History of the

Richards and Barry Families

of Cleveland, Ohio

Warm Water

A Collection of Memories

Contents

Afternoon Tomatoes

Alaska

Arctic Freeze

At My Front Door

Boss

Changing Times

Chichén Itzá Tour

Curious

Detached

Dysfunctional Family

Smart Man, Sr.

Full-of-Himself, Jr.

His Enabling Wife

Opinioned Polly

Airhead Hattie

Friendship Veils Us

From a Bus in Berlin

Goodbye Ol ’ Currywurst

Haiku

Calm

Peace

Batter Up

Hawaii

Roof

Tropic

Highway Hypnosis

Hopping Cars

Impure Thoughts

July

Kickin’ It

Kittens

Leaning on the Counter

Machine

Mama Taught

Minnie & Mick

Missionary Dictionary

Molly-o (I.)

Still on It

Molly-o (II.)

In the Arms of the Dead

Molly-o (III.)

Back from the Dead

Montana

Mother’s Twisted Thinking

Mullen Mimetic

My Dear Corrin

Now As I Wander

Ode to the Road

Olmsted Falls

Pacifier Pantoum

Poetic Season’s Greeting

Racy Rita

Round One

Sestina 101

Socks

Summer Songs

The Mess

The Visit

Winter

Words

Writer’s Gloom

OBSERVATION BY ALEXANDER HAMILTON

"I have thought it my duty to exhibit things as they are,

not as they ought to be."

—LETTER OF AUGUST 13, 1782

— iambic pentameter form

Afternoon Tomatoes

I worked a veggie garden in the back—

Behind my house, surrounded by a fence

That kept the roaming rabbits from my greens

And flower buds and other growing plants.

I rototilled and spaded over soil

And added last year’s leaf mulch to the mix,

Then rototilled again to blend it in.

The sweetened loam was now prepared for plants.

I flipped through Burpee’s catalogue for seeds

And drove to Zergott’s nursery for flats,

Then out from my garage came all the tools,

Some dirty still, from last year’s muddy dig.

I wore a cap and jeans and short-sleeve shirt

And fit a pair of tattered cotton gloves.

That’s what I wore. It’s what the neighbors saw,

As I knelt, bent and planting in the Earth.

I sloped and rounded off the beds of soil,

Then measured space to dig the little holes

In which to drop the tiny seeds to plant,

Then patted flat the holes I filled with soil.

I raised my eyes and saw my wife approach

With half-a-flat she purchased from the store—

Tomato plants that stood eight inches high

Rocked back and forth in rhythm with her gait.

Her sleeveless halter-top was filled with fruit

That jiggled just above the rocking plants,

And on her hips she wore a pair of shorts.

Her slender legs were shaven, smooth and tan.

She said hello to me