mississippi

yazoo city law -
through crack in tinted window,
a sweltering heat
(4-10)






kudzu in mirror,
enough mint tea, y'all come back -
yazoo city still
(10-08)






desoto campfire -
stories of small-town picnics
and not fitting in
(3-10)





folks talk civil war -
old stouts steamboat captain talks
summers on th'river
(12-13)






watching perseids -
vicksburg girl can't imagine
marryin' a yankee
(12-13)






westbound on twenty -
barbecue on pack canvas,
old bridge souvenir
(12-13)





holed up in jackson
labor day hurricane blues
cot springs on off beat
(9-08)








ole miss linebacker
spits his aggression and scorn
on faulkner's sidewalks
(11-13) 







woke in tombigbee,
red clay bed, pine for blanket,
campfire for coffee
(10-08)






home from th'war, killed here,
old cemetery road 'n' confed'rate -
ain't used t'ice 'n these parts
(12-13)





deserted crossroads,
limited fame, yours and mine -
we toast the new year
(10-08)





desoto campfire
smokes wood wet from march drizzle,
better'n any cologne
(10-08)






natchez trace roadside
aroma - unknown blossoms,
or maybe old ghosts?
(7-05)






laurel laundr'mat door -
dryer steam at back, he stops,
baptized by spring rain
(1-13)






girl scouts - tup'lo's finest,
most sincere of mall merchants
selling do-si-dos
(1-13)

itta bena spring -

too many days, waiting for work,

but hope is in th'air

(12-14)