the dog and the sandman

the dog is dead
to the world.
this kind of sleep
is what I used to have
before the change,
before the crush.

there’s too much worry
in my bones – too much
brokenness. I am
whole-body ache in
need of a salve that’s evergreen.
who will deliver?

Wednesday is just
another day that my
body confuses with
Thursday, and the mind
battles with it – warring
with an enemy who
has an army of an
undisclosed amount.

I am stuck in the middle.
the dog is still dead
to the world.
she didn’t raise her head
or bat an eye.
the sandman who visits
her is clearly not the
one who will beat down
my door tonight.

Photos From This Past Weekend

Jernee: Stop & Stare. She didn’t want me to leave for work. Friday, May 02, 2025. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
Caison Michael at his soccer game. We were getting ready to leave, and I just had to snag a photo of him. Look at his smile! I just love my little Munchkin Man! Saturday, May 03, 2025. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
Coach Gabe, making sure Caison is goalie-ready! Saturday, May 03, 2025. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
And again! Saturday, May 03, 2025. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
Hallway smile & pose 1, before the soccer game. Saturday, May 03, 2025. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
Hallway smile & pose 2, before the soccer game. I like this one a little better. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
Contemplative Tre: My neighborhood has a new playground and dog-bark park now. The complex is huge, so to have these additions blows my mind. I was taking a bit of a rest since we walked at least a 1/2 mile to get to it. Jernee was sniffing around, as you can see in the photo below. Saturday, May 03, 2025. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
The Little Monster just had to be sure everything was in tip-top shape. LOL! Saturday, May 03, 2025. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
I wanted so badly to go inside and play, but my knees were like, “Honey Bunny, don’t you dare!” LOL! Saturday, May 03, 2025. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
Sunday dinner. Honey-glazed chicken, mixed veggies (peas, carrots, and onions), and thinly sliced seasoned baked potatoes. Sunday, May 04, 2025. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt

I love going to Caison’s games. It doesn’t matter which sport it is, I try my best to get to as many as I can. Jaidy is supposed to be playing basketball next season, and I will be at as many of her games as I can make it to, also. Friday night was peaceful. Saturday morning was intense with my workout before getting ready for the soccer game. Sunday was a day I needed and did not know it. Overall, it was a peaceful yet fulfilling weekend. I hope this week has been and will be more than kind to all of you!


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 my place of employment as it pertains to racism and discrimination. I welcome your visit.

Peace and Blessings!

we were made to move

an experimental audio poem

Contemplative Tre. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
we were made to move by Tremaine L. Loadholt

I feel her
crying soul
letting go — we’re
breaking free from
the chains we
formed around us.

breathing is like fighting
under water — struggling to
pull against every push.
I tell her “I am here” when
her mind strangles her.
I am ready to save
her from the darkness.

my friend says to me,
“I could never say no to
something like this… the way
you poured your heart out, Tre.
the way you wear your heart
on your sleeve.
if I were her, it’d be a “Yes.”

and I don’t think
people get the crux of us — the
history. we have been
sacred for years; subordinate
to manager, there were just
some roads we couldn’t
cross, and now that we have
this cross to bear, it’s
more jigsawed than ever before.

still…
I feel her
crying soul
letting go — we’re
breaking free from
the chains we
formed around us.
we were made to
move.


Author’s Note: This piece began as a bit of micropoetry I shared as a note on my Substack. I wanted to play around with it and see what else I could produce. The photo above of me helped with this process. The thoughts bouncing about in my mind needed formulating — they needed a home. I think I have found one for them.


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 my place of employment as it pertains to racism and discrimination. I welcome your visit.

Peace and Blessings!

Left-Handed in a Dream: A Haibun

Part VI: Discovering memories

AI-Generated Image: A Black woman with locs looking at a photo album while sitting outside on a bench. She is wearing a jean jacket with a hot pink halter top under it. Her hot pink nails pop as they slide across the photo album.

Memory goes for a long walk. She carries one of her favorite photo albums with her. She is reminiscent of the times she and Rodney shared before marriage. Their friends always knew they would do life together — that they’d succeed in lassoing one another to their hearts. They did. And now she is searching for the feelings she used to have before marriage. She wonders where they have gone. Can she find them in the photos before her eyes? Discovering memories could serve her better than the past ever could. She’s desperate. She loves Rodney and wants to continue to spend the rest of her days with him. But she needs more. She craves more. Will she find what she’s looking for in the pictured past?

discovering life
while the sun sets in full view
bittersweet lovers


This concludes the Left-handed in a Dream Haibun series. Thank you so much for reading.

Part IPart IIPart III, Part IV, & Part V

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 my place of employment as it pertains to racism and discrimination. I welcome your visit.

Peace and Blessings!

Something To Think About #11

My taste buds are changing, and I am okay with this.

Thursday’s lunch for work: Cucumbers, onions, Roma tomatoes, & a homemade vinaigrette dressing. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
Saturday & Sunday’s breakfast: seasoned grits & salmon croquettes with onions, green bell peppers, & Roma tomatoes. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt
Last Sunday’s dinner: Pan-seared pork steak, homemade mashed potatoes (with cheese & sour cream), & pole & green beans with onions. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt

I will share “Something To Think About” for the next five weeks on Sunday afternoons. It may be a quote, a picture, an interesting phrase I heard, artwork, etc. Whatever I share will surely be intriguing or involving enough to spark a casual discussion or in-depth conversation. Stay tuned every Sunday for this feature!


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 my place of employment as it pertains to racism and discrimination. I welcome your visit.

Peace and blessings!

The Beauty of Voyeurism

Flash Fiction response to Melissa’s Fandango Flash Fiction Prompt

Photo by Tetyana Kovyrina on Pexels. The image depicts a side view of a chipmunk with a tiny teacup. On the ground in front of the chipmunk is a tiny tea dish with a blueberry on it. The ground appears to be a stone-type walk, and there is a dark blue background.

Mr. Doyle lives across the street from us. He’s an older guy with wiry fire for hair in a golden rage. My mom hates him… says he’s on some sort of in-house arrest for his past following him all the way here. I don’t know what she’s talking about, but I like Mr. Doyle. He has this lisp that I bet could scale a ladder quicker than The Flash. I have tea and danishes with him twice per week. He paints nature–makes it pop.

Today’s piece is a chipmunk sipping from the tiniest teacup I’ve ever seen. He also has a rather fat blueberry on a plate in front of the chipmunk. “A proper breakfast”, I comment. Because who wouldn’t want tea and blueberries?!

He tells me he’s titling the painting The Beauty of Voyeurism, and I sit back on the green, crunchy cushions of his couch, swirl the name around in my mouth. I like it. But . . . “Why voyeurism? Isn’t this a more sexually derived term for being too nosy and too into what you’re snooping up on?”

Mr. Doyle rolls back and forth on the heels of his feet, nods his contemplative head, and shouts in my direction, “YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT, SAM! If you notice, the chipmunk is focused, entirely too focused on the tea. The blueberry is lonely. It would like some of that attention, too. But the chipmunk has become enticed by, influenced by the deliciousness of the tea–so much so that its pleasure has been satiated by the tea alone.”

I know I ain’t the brightest crayon in the box, but I know at this point, exactly what Mom was talking about when she said Mr. Doyle has a past following him. I get up from the couch, grab my windbreaker, thank Mr. Doyle for the tea and danish, and high-tail it across the street.

Ain’t no way I’m telling Mom about this. NO WAY at all!


This flash fiction piece was written in response to Melissa’s Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge. Maybe you’d like to give it a go as well? Here’s hoping your mind doesn’t take you to where my mind took me. It was a fun write, nonetheless, though.


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 my place of employment as it pertains to racism and discrimination. I welcome your visit.

Peace and Blessings!