Poem: Becoming a Marylander

Between the tides of the Chesapeake
And the muddy waters of the Potomac
Seedlings cast from an old world
Seeking out new fertile soil to grow

Poem: Tobacco (nicotiana alata)

Nearly every summer for a decade
I watched tobacco being grown and harvested
Cut to air dry on stalks high in the rafters
Out in the old weathered gray tobacco barn
To cure and sweeten in the humid summer heat

Poem: Shadows of Ancient Moonlight

the moon plays interesting tricks
casting shadows that are lighter
than their midday counterparts
cast by the heat of the sun burning
into harsh shapes clearly defined
versus the cool soft shadows
of high moon in the evening

Poem: Unpacking Old Things

There’s a lot here to unpack
Years of things put away
Pushed back into corners
Locked away in dark places
Meant never to see the light
Waiting patiently moldering

Poem: Tribal Beat

In the garden of the world
There rises up a tribal beat
Coming from the dancing feet
Of those ancient bodies
Dancing and stomping in time

Poem: Into Rust

rust
brittle orange
flaking away
each layer
eating history
that lies below

Poem: Ode to Joan

La Pucelle de Lorraine born fourteen twelve
In town Domrémy during the Hundred Years War
At age thirteen the three saints appeared to her

From her vision she converted the doubters
Clothed in armor donated by believers
Riding to battle facing the enemy

Poem: Lounge

On the stage under hot lights
Sits the old grand piano
Older than her great grandparents
Who would’ve never made it in the door
On the club where she stands now
Leaning against old grand
Hair falling down to her shoulders
Body hugged in a cardinal red dress
Her lungs filling with whispy smoke
With her red lips making love
To the mesh of the microphone

Poem: From Isle to Holler

The sounds of mountain music
Running through Appalachia
Rolling along hill and holler
Harkens back to songs
That were sung on the isle

Poem: Couplet of War

The sound of horse hooves gallop across plains
As the boys with their trumpets play their refrains
In their gleaming metal armor polished bright
Charge rows and rows of the mounted knights
Forward on in martial order towards the rising sun