Eau Claire—
French, but wholly Wisconsin—
Pushes the state to push the limit
Of what we see as good.
“Legalize it!”
The demands are heard,
From a county wait up nort’.
Now we wait
For the red to wake
To the calling of the folks
Who wish to smoke, eat, enjoy
A harmless plant
And nothing more.
Uncategorized
3.26.21 – Clogged
“The Suez is clogged!”
Shouted the cobbler from his shed.
“What’s it to me?”
Rebutted every passing head.
Their eyes are fogged,
Thought the shoeman to himself.
For the rubber on their feet
Traveled through the clogged canal.
3.5.21 – Wasting Time With You <3
Meaningless readings
Of 700 pages
Derail fading efforts
To deliver US aid.
Mr. Johnson’s Wisconsin pleasantries
Called for continued delay
Of the COVID relief package
That will be sent off anyway.
2.19.21 – When Texas Freezes Over
When Texas freezes over
There will be tiny assassins
Taking lives,
Shutting down restaurants
And schools,
Keeping Grandma behind glass
As she closes her eyes.
When Texas freezes over
The Capitol will be ransacked.
Confederate flags will fly freely
Under the Dome of Democracy.
A Viking will lead the charge
Down the Halls of the Republic
With both young and old behind.
When Texas freezes over
Innocent men will be strangled in the streets
And homes will not be safe
From the peacekeepers.
It will be a crime to be Black.
All that
When Texas freezes over.
1.15.21 – Impeach Me Once, Shame on You. Impeach Me Twice, Shame on Me.
History was made
A year ago
When Trump faced impeachment.
Historically
He faced a deed
Of which his fore-peers had succeeded.
And so did he,
Or so we’d think,
Until his people screamed and shouted
At the Capitol.
And now we know
Mr. Trump has been indicted.
11.27.20 – 1-800-273-8255
Words spoken to a Void
Are no more words than
They are vibrations.
Over two thousand folks
Spoke alone to the Void
Just yesterday
And today
And tomorrow.
Our hands are nearly as deadly as roads.
I propose an ear to hear
What’s troubling you.
An ear
To pull you back from the edge of the Void.
10.30.20 – Knives
10.9.20 – Pretty Fly on a White Guy
I sit here atop
The head of Mike Pence
Thinking about
How I ended up where I am.
Some of my sisters
And both of my brothers
Would be proud of me
For making it so high
In the political world.
But not Dad,
Who once sat on Trump’s top.
There’s no pleasing parents.
8.27.20 – A Basketball Frozen in Time
The ball kissed off the glass,
Catching rim, sliding past
The nylon net that swooshed and swung
But—the basketball—it hung
In the air with our breath,
Sat between life and death.
The Milwaukee Bucks slunk away
To point the scope to cops today.
8.25.20 – Basketball Distractions
In Wisconsin—
Of all places—
The smoldering embers
Of George Floyd’s murder
Were slowly cooling.
But with one
Flash of gasoline—
Shots to the back—
Kenosha erupts in flames.
The attraction of basketball,
In a far-off magical place,
Distracts and detracts from
What matters most of all.
We must suspend our attraction
Till this ends
And Black Americans
Can sleep.
This Is Just to Say 
