Mississippi Morning
Aye, Eye, I, Hi!
Doublest welcomest
Budding Magnolia
Youallcomebacknow,
Isn't it so.
So green, so grow,
Sow tippytoe taluppa row,
With soldiers tall
Beneath the pines,
So brave and beautiful,
A misty mourning memory.
* * * * *
Southern Discomfort
Bridge the tender boundaries
of the sexes,
pitted in a see-saw warfare,
one-up
down one,
Ying yang humans
somewhat fitted
seek in combat mockery
contact
real companionship
Veiled by the pretense of a crime.
He no she the apple tempted ate.
* * * * *
Stone Mountain
Behold
bake bleedy red
bald cranium
of mothered meditation.
Lie down upon
the clod cake earth
to feel the trembling heart
Beat out remembered moccasins,
the boots and hooves,
the caterpillars
crawling on the corpse of inspiration,
Handle shaking God's own gift,
the never gotten land.
* * * * *
On the Train to Baltimore
Agate eyes of black boy
burr the suit
of one old colored man.
His face a loam of fertile legend,
hair a billow foam of broom,
he yet with gold-banded watch
guides younger vision
land triumphant
over rails their wracking forebears
laid so hotly down.
Threading mountains made by white men,
tape and wire, tie and tomb,
train beset by obsolescence
leads him to ancestral home.
Mirrored lad inquisitive
omegas promised land
within his ancient afro eyes.
* * * * *