Karina by Terry Huff

KARINA engraved her name in ALL CAPS
when this sidewalk was only wet cement.
She greets me each time I cross the street

to turn down Tilden from Millcross Cafe
where the coffee is hot and the servers warm,
like the start of this California day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KARINA 4-29-99.
She carved quickly, soon as city workers left,
then sprinted away without looking back. 

She was old enough then to play near the street,
mature enough now to be hardened,
strong enough to survive being stepped on.

I walk where Karina’s path began, certain
that her vision became clear as her name
framed in concrete, like a Hollywood star.                          

I imagine Karina around every corner now,
in the backseat of that black BMW,
curbside near the entrance at Sony Pictures.

She emerges and waves to her driver 
who merges back into traffic. She smiles at me,
walks to the gate, enters a code, and disappears.

Artist’s Statement

I’m retired when required to fill in a blank with that word. When not reading or writing poetry, I’m speaking or writing about ADHD, advocating for justice, meditating with my dog, studying song lyrics, listening to jazz, playing my guitar, walking in parks, or riding my bike. I’m proud to share life with a strong woman, to know the joy of having parented one and to travel with them.

Terry Huff, author of Living Well with ADHD (Specialty Press, 2016), is a retired social worker in the Nashville, Tennessee area. He earned his MA in psychology from Middle Tennessee State University in 1973, his MSW in social work from the University of Tennessee in 1980, and a certificate in creative writing from MTSU Write in 2023 where he was mentored by poets Denton Loving and Sally Rosen Kindred. Two of his poems are forthcoming in Salvation South.