Georgia

old truck, red clay soil –
macon lass has more okra
‘n she knows what t’do with
(11-16)






humid shop ‘n macon –
th’fan resettles th’dust, ‘n’ their looks
‘re from another world
(11-17)






ant'bellum houses,
the windsor - 'round the corner,
some guys, in the shade
(1-13)



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th’east point kid yells ‘t th’train
don’t care if it’s been t’hartsfield,
don’t go jumpin’ here
(2-18)




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okra ‘n’ cornmeal, fried –
th’rome lass learned from her grandma,
‘n’ they’ve kept surviving
(2-18)








involved in th’hustle,
walks quickly, th’streets ‘f th’old fifth ward,
blazing sun’s nothing
(2-16)







atlanta rappers
shared th’jail cell – in th’heat, still talk
‘bout who killed yung hott
(11-17)





old fourth ward hustler –
steamy ev’ning coming on,
but has ways t’raise cash
(5-17)






americus roads'
tar sticks - he finishes beer,
throws can out window
(1-13)






used to play for free,
all atlanta'd go t'the park -
brothers in summer
(9-05)


 
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brookhaven mansion –
plays golf almost ev’ry day,
tends t’get sloshed at night
(1-18)






tales ‘f th’murder kroger –
too many people came here
just t’get out of th’heat
(7-17)






okra and cornmeal,
and where'd you get that cook'n oil?
when in rome, she says
(5-11)







east point summer night -
train that came through here, he says,
first i ever jumped
(11-14)









gulls ‘t saint simon’s sound
turn into th’fresh breeze, away
from th’locals’ picnic
(11-16)









‘tlanta t’alpharetta –
fam’ly’s in th’hills with th’moonshine,
that didn’t work f’r him
(11-16)









trapped by macon heat,
his ears ring'n with the blues, he
begins t'understand
(2-14)









years ago, th'underground's
bricks, the heart of atlanta -
now, respite from th'heat
(11-14)








drunken bulldog fans
define sportsmanship 'xactly
in streets of athens
(2-14)







drunken bulldog fans,
th’contents ‘f th’athens garbage can –
th’wind catches th’feeling
(1-17)






th’bedlam ‘f bulldog fans –
fraternity house mother
surveys all th’damage
(10-17)







hauled f’r otis redding –
autumn fog, georgia pine woods,
he’s glad to be back
(10-16)





th’train rolls through east point –
touch ‘f frost ‘n th’air, time t’think ‘bout
catching that southbound
(12-17)


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th’quebecois’re stranded,
tried th’moonshine, ‘n’ passed out ‘n th’van –
frost ‘n th’georgia blue ridge
(2-18)











first frost – rome trucker
came over th’hill t’find kids push’n th’car,
killed half dozen ‘f ‘em
(1-17)






gainesville woodcutter –
sells th’most po’rful kind of shine,
try’n t’get back up th’hills
(11-15)







near andersonville –
so dry, th’possums’re out, says th’guy,
‘n’ th’deer’re too scrawny t’shoot
(11-17)





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th’old fourth ward hustler’s
upped his game – th’cold wind came in
just as th’tourists left
(11-17)






rome trucker’s account –
no fear ‘f th’early frost, no regard
f’r th’value ‘f human life
(1-16)






near andersonville
th'hunter spits - even the deer
look hungry this year
(11-14)






hangs wreath, tells story
store bombing uptown, protesting
koinonia
(1-13)





came back through hartsfield
for th'hol'days - what he missed most,
plain grits with butter
(12-14)



 

from europe t’hartsfield,
freezing rain on th’city streets,
‘n’ this’s his third bowl ‘f grits
(10-17)






clos'n macon diner,
clock slows n'stops at holidays -
'y'all take your time, now'
(1-13)





southbound van stranded -
new year toast, byron folk ne'er
heard of quebecois
(2-14)








from mississippi,
he fled, on foot, th’runaway kid –
ice storm ‘n atlanta
(10-16)






blizzard on peachtree –
not wanting t’go north, th’best choice,
wash dishes ‘t th’airport
(5-16)








promoted to grits –
king’s birthday, they say, ‘n’ his folks’ll
be com’n through hartsfield
(5-16)







th’train rolls through east point
th’winter night – he hopes it goes
somewhere near peachtree
(5-16)





bitter wind, peachtree –
got th’kid, ‘n’ they want th’yankee
t’get back on th’highway
(1-17)






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cleveland avenue’s
icy streets – th’retired p’liceman’s
enjoying th’coffee
(12-17)






y'all git back up on
se'nty five north, cold or not,
don't come back, ya hear?
(3-10)





colors ‘f laf’yette square –
th’park worker picks up th’panties
‘f th’saint pat’s revelers
(11-17)








 
andersonville ‘n march –
‘possums so o’nry, they’ll dig up
th’civil war graveyards
(1-17)








freight train, georgia hills
red wine, thick loaf, pepper cheese -
peepers call from night
(3-10)







georgia blue ridge freight –
rhododendrons ‘n th’mountainsides,
then, ‘cross some river
(10-17)








macon magnolias –
folks tend t’think th’tattooed bikers
‘ve gone against th’system
(4-17)







first peepers ‘n th’swamp –
this train’s left atlanta, bound
for th’georgia blue ridge
(1-17)










driver loves peachtree,
its blossoms, modern buildings -
hiker just wants out
(11-14)






sunrise on springer –
rhododendrons are blooming,
‘n’ he’s ready t’walk t’maine
(8-17)







springer mountain flow'rs
bloom with pollen and promise
shoes oiled and ready
(10-05)








georgia blue ridge sun
wakens forest animals,
showers touch young blooms
(10-05)








leaving from springer -
fragrance of rhododendron,
hopes of reaching maine
(8-05)









night train from hartsfield -
scraped elbow in fragrant bush,
ways west of downtown
(3-10)







road from vidalia –
sweet onions, and love that’d be
trouble forever
(5-15)






smell ‘f sweet onions ‘n th’field,
road t’vidalia – purest ‘f loves,
most entrenched ‘f taboos
(10-17)







mount vernon prom night –
not that long ago, y’all’d be
going t’diff’rent ones
(5-15)








proms ‘f montg’y county,
bad coffee, ‘n’ th’yankee’s rebuke –
best be on y’all’s way
(5-15)









sweet smells ‘f vidalia –
some folks cry cutting onions,
she cries just t’come home
(11-16)






reflection ‘f th’peach trees –
uptown shoppers’ friendliness
has t’be genuine
(10-16)






gone but not f'rgotten -
d'catur girl shows her back yard's
cherokee roses
(11-14)



 
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cherokee roses,
rome lass holds'm ‘n’ blushes – some things're
better left unsaid
(11-17)












brutal with th’pest’cides –
fields ‘f plains, steamy ‘n’ productive
but don’t go play ‘n them
(11-17)





gardens ‘f savannah –
her perfect world’s been threatened
by th’stranger at th’gate
(11-17)







cherokee roses –
decatur lass can’t recall
th’high school hist’ry class
(10-16)



e pluribus haiku