The Poetic Blues - Honored to Perform for Red Mountain @writingproject to Kick-Off Their Summer Teacher Invitational

So wonderful to spend a Saturday night reuniting with Attallah Sheppard and presenting a few poems to the University of Alabama Red Mountain Writing Project in Birmingham. It was their Summer Institute Kickoff. and there are very few people as special and dynamic as Dr. Tonya Perry. When she calls, I answer.  It's been a long time since I wrote a blues poem, but I channeled my days in Kentucky, some blue grass beats, and figured out what I had to say., and began with a new one, written just for them. Attallah rocked as always, Jaeden Henderson is the man, and I did what I could. In total, we mastered a 50-minute set. Phew. We should do this for a living. It made for a fantastic Saturday evening. 

Attallah is meant for this work. She's just magical. Here's to the 21 teachers of 2020!

Poetry & Blues

for the Red Mountain Writing Project Summer Cohort, 2020

My heart is marching, My soul sings songs

My heart is marching, My soul sings songs

& I’m composing…I’m writing wrongs.

This is poetry,

this is the blues

this is cosmic symmetry

and a celebration of hues

This is the Diva

This is the Frog

This is our karma

& national dialogue

My heart is marching, My soul sings songs

My heart is marching, My soul sings songs

& I’m composing…I’m writing wrongs.

This is about legacies

this is about rights

this is about prophecies

and our ongoing fights

This is about Red Mountain

This is about the ways writing prōjects

This is about our doctrine

towards each other to humanly connect

This is about justice

This is about peace

This is about fairness

& a scripted masterpiece

This is about language

This is about words

This is about wreckage

northern flickers & beautiful songbirds

My heart is marching, My soul sings songs

My heart is marching, My soul sings songs

& I’m composing…I’m writing wrongs.

This is about teachers

This is about youth

This is about alters

where both can tell their truth

This is about playgrounds

This is about art

This is about classrooms

where we give them a start

This is about literature

This is about books

this is about being circular

as we model how it looks

This is about notebooks

This is about seeds

This is about scrapbooks

& finding ourselves through weeds

This is about community

This is about friends

This is about serenity

& making our amends

My heart is marching, My soul sings songs

My heart is marching, My souls sing songs

& I’m composing…I’m writing wrongs.

This is about me

This is about you

This is to be free

& do what dreamers do.

This is about crying

This is about being strong

This is about trying

& coming along

This is exploration

This is the door

This is versification

where you’ll explore

This is a walkway

This is an entrance

This is a pathway 

where you can take a stance

This is poetry,

this is the blues

this is cosmic symmetry

and a celebration of hues

This is the Diva

This is the Frog

This is our karma

& a national dialogue

Our hearts are marching, Our souls sing songs

Our hearts are marching, Our souls sing songs

& we’re composing…we'll write these wrongs.