Category: Poetry

Jernee Timid Will Have a Book, Too

trE

I am writing, compiling, and gathering poems in honor of my baby girl

Jernee Timid as a puppy. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt, Enhanced/Cartoonized by Google Gemini

I am working on a book of poems for Jernee Timid, in memory of her life and the incredible loss I’ve experienced. I am no stranger to sifting through poems; picking and choosing pieces that make the cut, and culling others that do not. These poems, though… something about not including them—the ones not making the cut, feels wrong—feels spiteful. I cannot explain it.

I wrote them during her life. I wrote them after she died. They all have a little bit of her wrapped up in them, and I can’t see myself not having them be a part of something as significant as a dedication to her time spent on earth alongside me.

The cover photo for the book is shown above. I decided to use a photo of her as a puppy, enhancing it using AI to give it a more cartoon-like feel, because the content that follows may or may not be easy to digest.

I have always written through pain—the death of my favorite companion is no different. I am writing through it. I will continue to write through it for as long as I need to do so. Jernee would understand that. Heck, The Little Monster might’ve even appreciated it.

There is a title (I will share it as time gets closer to the publishing date), and I plan to release the book in early February of next year, or toward the end of this year. It truly depends on how I feel. Who would I be if I did not publish a book of poems for the greatest love of my life? Not Tre, I can tell you that.

I will keep all of you updated.

Peace and blessings.

Have you gotten your copy of Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction at Lulu in E-Book & Paperback versions, or Amazon in Paperback (only) yet?

I am on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing as I speak about recent events with a previous place of employment, as it pertains to racism and discrimination, growth from the transition after resigning from that company, and life’s foibles and overall experiences. I welcome your visit.

smelling death

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Jernee Timid, losing all of her energy after the initial injection on her last day with us. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt

near the end, I think
my neighbor’s dog could
smell death on Jernee–could
identify she didn’t have long.

and every time I saw them
walking toward us, I’d stiffen.
my body would become a
tabernacle–solid and silent.

he’d sniff his friend, searching
Jernee for evidence of life,
and when he didn’t find it,
he’d whine to his mom.

it wasn’t until Jernee’s last
couple of days on this earth
that I realized Winnie, in his
own way, had already mourned
Jernee’s life.

he’d been greeting her death,
and I just didn’t want to
believe it.

Have you gotten your copy of Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction at Lulu in E-Book & Paperback versions, or Amazon in Paperback (only) yet?

I am on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing as I speak about recent events with a previous place of employment, as it pertains to racism and discrimination, growth from the transition after resigning from that company, and life’s foibles and overall experiences. I welcome your visit.

Poem for an Image

trE

#10: A Senryu, Collaged Real & Cartoon’d Tre

Heading Out: Saturday, November 01, 2025. Photo Collage Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt|Cartoon’d Tre by Google Gemini

GAINING confidence
“fifteen minutes at a time”
l i v i n g without her

Have you gotten your copy of Séduire: Serial Tales & Flash Fiction at Lulu in E-Book & Paperback versions, or Amazon in Paperback (only) yet?

I am on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing as I speak about recent events with a previous place of employment, as it pertains to racism and discrimination, growth from the transition after resigning from that company, and life’s foibles and overall experiences. I welcome your visit.

away from you & death from cold

trE

Two poems shared on Substack notes

AI-generated image: Two Black women; one has an afro and is wearing black rimmed glasses, the other has locs and is donning massive gold hoop earrings. They both have pensive expressions on their faces as they hold on to each other in a sinkhole.

away from you

Con Funk Shun
plays, and I finally
hear what I need to
in Michael Cooper’s
sultry voice…
“That’s the way it
goes on Love’s
Train,” and you
begin to fade from
memory.

As soon as you float
into another part of
my mind, The Gap Band
plays, and then
I hear, “Keep running,”
and here I am… trying to talk
myself from chasing
after you.

I am slowing down,
finding my own beat,
and my own words
to get far away from
you.

death from cold

cold weather
moves in without an
invite–banging at
the doors of the sky,
willing to lap dance
the day away, as
long as it’s paid in
full before the next
business day.

its pimp hangs out
around the corner,
strangling the sun
and threatening to
take the heat from
it.

we all layer up for
safety. we don’t want
to catch our death
from cold.

Love’s Train by Con Funk Shun:

Yearning for Your Love by The Gap Band:

What Autumn is Doing

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A Triolet

AI-Generated Image: A few trees draped in the colors of autumn. Behind them are a couple of houses, faintly noticeable in the background.

Autumn has gotten comfortable enough to undress,
to finally tame the seasonal shift.
It does this with the perfect amount of finesse.
Autumn has gotten comfortable enough to undress.
We find ourselves somehow stressing less,
and this is truly the perfect gift.
Autumn has gotten comfortable enough to undress,
to finally tame the seasonal shift.

Have you gotten your copy of my new book: a collection of serial tales & flash fiction, Séduire (E-Book and Paperback) yet?

I recently signed up to write on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing as I speak about the most recent events with a previous place of employment, as it pertains to racism and discrimination, growth from the transition after resigning from that company, and life’s foibles and overall experiences. I welcome your visit.

Sunday Cries of Opposition on a Monday Morning

trE

A Cento

AI-Generated Image: The photo shows People of Color standing defiantly outside, in the open, waiting for something to happen. Perhaps, change?

I AM tired of work; I am tired of building up
somebody else’s civilization. 
The beer company
did not hire Blacks or Puerto Ricans,
so my father joined the picket line 
Steadfast and awful, my tall father
Hit hard as a hailstorm. He’d leave marks. 

You ain’t gonna be able to say a word
If I land my fist on you. 
Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack,
Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back! 

The mob arrives with stones and sticks
to maim and lame and do me in. 
It has been a
hard trudge, with fainting, bandaging and death. 
come celebrate
with me that everyday
something has tried to kill me
and has failed. 

she say, she don’t know how
she’d get along without Beulah 
show me someone not full of herself   
and i’ll show you a hungry person 
let snow soothe you
make your healing water
clear sweet.

What I want should not be confused
with total inactivity. 
I bit sweet power to the core.
How can I say what it was like? 
Remember what
the world is like
for white people. 

This is my first Cento. I knew the topic I wanted to write about–knew the theme instantly (mental exhaustion from oppressive regimes and how the system is still designed to benefit the majority over minorities). I reflected upon the indomitable Writers of Color to be able to express the point I intended to get across. I researched writers, poems, and pieces of prose before compiling lines to build stanzas that, in my humble opinion, flowed seamlessly. I hope I created that.

Inspirational Works:
Tired by Fenton Johson, All Poetry
The Sign in my Father’s Hands by Martin Espada, Poetry Foundation
Duplex by Jericho Brown, Poetry Foundation
The Ballad of the Landlord by Langston Hughes, All Poetry
If We Must Die by Claude McKay, Poetry Foundation
Loose Woman by Sandra Cisneros, Genius
To Black Women by Gwendolyn Brooks, Illinois Poet’s Forum
won’t you celebrate with me by Lucille Cliftion, Poetry Foundation
Stagerlee wonders by James Baldwin, Poetry Foundation
Poem for a Lady Whose Voice I Like by Nikki Giovanni, Poetry Foundation
Appalachian Elegy (1-6) by bell hooks, Poetry Foundation
Keeping Quiet by Pablo Neruda, Quantum
Eve Remembering by Toni Morrison, Poets.org
If You Are Over Staying Woke by Morgan Parker, Poetry Foundation

Have you gotten your copy of my new book: a collection of serial tales & flash fiction, Séduire (E-Book and Paperback) yet?

I recently signed up to write on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing as I speak about the most recent events with a previous place of employment, as it pertains to racism and discrimination, growth from the transition after resigning from that company, and life’s foibles and overall experiences. I welcome your visit.