South Carolina

gumbo mud ‘n’ sand fleas,
beaufort bay oyster man’s tale –
cuts’re deep, ‘n’ hurt like hell
(12-17)






sea island gullah –
art ‘f making th’sweetgrass baskets
‘n’ keeping th’world at bay
(12-17)







in charleston, th’gard’ner
knows ev’ry secret in th’city –
wouldn’t dream ‘f travel
(9-16)





combing folly beach –
convinced th’secrets ‘f history
are just beneath th’sand
(10-17)



 


hilton head golfer –
wealth has bought him th’chance t’obsess
‘bout how th’eighth played out
(12-16)






coke ‘n’ chicken fried steak –
th’heat sets in ‘n spartansburg, but
he’s deployed next week
(1-16)








sultry july heat –
even th’beaufort ladybug,
ready t’quit th’union
(3-16)








myrtle beach carhop
still likes th’sound ‘f th’yankee’s accent
when he says ‘unsweet’
(1-17)






beaufort estuaries –
shelled couple ‘f million oysters,
still looking f’r that pearl
(12-16)










southern hosp’tal’ty,
cool mint tea – charleston lass flirts,
but that’s as far’s ‘t goes
(12-16)






folly beach campfire –
knows each boat from ancient times,
‘n’ where it dropped its gold
(12-16)





she comes t’myrtle beach
her first summer as a teen –
she’s never heard ‘f ‘unsweet’
(1-16)









from sullivan's isle,
charleston harbor's twinkling lights,
dawn's steamy secrets
(11-13)









hilton head golfer,
two martinis into lunch,
relives his eighth hole
(4-10)









a beach called folly -
she prays for august rain, in
all seriousness
(11-13)









sweet tea, clemson beau -
so refreshing, she defers,
school starts, she'll vanish
(11-13)









sea island gullah -
r'minds her 'f ancestors, far from
this sultry market
(6-13)







greeleyville barbers
watch th’tel’vision f’r th’summer temps –
‘nother church has burned
(6-15)








indigo sundress -
maybe it means something, but
charleston folks don't know
(5-13)







golfer ‘t hilton head –
made his money ‘n th’cruel world
‘n’ he counts th’way he wants
(11-17)









with no sense ‘f hist’ry,
folly beach market lass sells
th’indigo sundress
(10-16)






grew up poor in flor'nce
got rich 'n'is air con - wouldn't
live anywhere else
(4-10)







teen from navy base,
sick of precision mowing
seeks myrtle's high tide
(4-10)






stranded in beaufort,
imprisoned by humid world,
feels like seceding
(4-10)




 
chattooga river –
likes t’be far enough up ‘n th’hills,
it cools off at night
(11-17)







clemson lass, back ‘t school –
charleston kid pines ‘n th’coffee shop,
she’s got ‘nother world
(10-17)









fought in the trenches,
retired here on myrtle beach -
tide soothes aching feet
(9-05)







myrtle beach hotel,
sand sticks to towel - sugar
dissolves in iced tea
(1-07)






edisto basin -
corn still stands, ducks'll harvest it
hunters'll harvest th'ducks
(11-14)







she cheers for th’gamecocks –
gets her perm, then doesn’t want
th’boys t’mess with her hair
(3-18)









torn rotator cuff –
th’kid’s life revolved ‘round th’gamecocks,
‘n’ now he’s despondent
(9-17)





gamecock tackle’s tale –
brutal’ty ‘f th’sport makes’m vi’lent –
‘n’ unbear’bly hungry
(12-16)








lost on old state road –
tourist ‘n’ yankee stop t’ask th’lass
hanging sock ghosts ‘n th’trees
(11-15)









th’way back t’columbia,
some problem understanding –
she points with th’sock ghost
(11-15)










th’tourist’s from london,
‘n’ used to th’problem – hits th’pumpkin
th’mailbox, old state road
(11-15)







hall’ween, old state road –
costumes’d make more sense, if th’place
wasn’t so unreal
(3-17)












started ‘n clemson ‘n th’fall,
‘course all th’frat boys noticed her –
that’s what she wanted
(3-17)






clemson cornerback –
it’s not what he thought of as
‘good education’
(3-16)









gamecock linebacker
says this game's deadly vi'lence
worse than crack cocaine
(1-07)






cold wind ‘n greeleyville –
at th’black barber’s they’ll tell you
ev’ry church that’s burned
(3-17)



 



don’t wait for th’snow ‘n’ ice –
christmas ‘n charleston, get from th’sound
‘f th’bellringers north ‘f broad
(3-17)
















bellringer north ‘f broad –
tough life f’r th’old black guys ‘n these parts,
‘n’ th’hot cocoa tastes good
(12-17)


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new year ‘t folly beach,
th’tide comes in, ‘n’ he gets nervous –
t’her, he’s th’whole future
(2-18)








folly beach barkeep -
"to th'new year - may th'tides be good,
n'some luck for th'trav'ler"
(11-13)







hard frost, epiph’ny –
th’old man tells ‘f th’ghost encounter
‘t th’old rainbow lake bridge
(12-17)






south bound’ry, aiken –
canopy ‘f trees, snow-covered,
bite your tongue, ‘r th’snow’ll fall
(12-17)


-->



just didn’t look th’same –
city ‘f charleston, covered with snow,
even th’palmettos
(1-18)





pink hearts, store windows
in charleston, sometimes you can't -
it's just th'way it is
(1-13)







foggy st. pat's morn,
palms camper finds green bottle,
can't read note's gaelic
(6-13)









natural causes –
what lee county says ‘bout th’march fire –
th’klan, he says, ‘s nat’ral
(6-15)









rest stop near beaufort -
bronx pipefitter, local belle,
gentle april rain
(4-10)






iced tea, steamy morn –
on th’spartanburg garden bench,
best t’sit still ‘n’ relax
(3-17)






th’gum trees hold th’dirt road –
th’passion ‘f th’low country spring rules
th’most random events
(3-16)







bishopsville ruins –
th’snake ‘n’ th’mouse dance in th’spring drizzle,
th’hiker leaves for th’coast
(9-16)






ruins ‘f bishopsville –
spring rains ‘n th’weeds take more of it
back t’from where it came
(11-17)






reb flag flies ‘n th’spring breeze –
twenty-seven years ‘n charleston,
‘n’ not about t’let go
(7-17)








greeleyville easter –
church, place ‘f peace and unity,
‘t’s why they burn it down
(12-16)






hungry f’r each other
‘t th’pond ‘t middleton – behind them,
th’hillside ‘f azaleas
(3-16)






crepe myrtle’s festive,
but she’ll hurry back t’south ‘f broad –
th’pounding rains’re coming
(12-16)






th’crepe myrtle blossoms –
charleston folk are too polite,
‘n’ don’t tell th’whole story
(1-18)


e pluribus haiku