October 11, 2011—
The heart hangs like a thick branch of a cypress tree
over a wake in the narrow Mobile River.
Looking at the water and the sky
like the space between now and then.
*
Did you see the turkey vulture?
Flying over the side of the freedom highway. Look!
Maybe you were sleeping to a Mavis Staples lullaby
as I drove off into another day.
*
My father always said to stay cool.
He has the warmest of souls
He now sleeps and rests a trembling arm
And unforgiving legs that showed me the way.
*
Decency is the tributary into a sea of understanding.
He [...]
