A Fine Young Cannibal was walking through the woods and came up on a missionary trapped high in the tree. He yelled, “How’d you get up there? she said, I’ve been up here for two days and three nights. I’m hungry, thirsty and tired. I need some help to get down.” She explained, she’d been there endlessly with a lion circling below waiting for her to come down. But the lion had grown impatient with cleaning his paws and stretching its jaws while waiting for her to come down or fall. The lion eventually left and there she was up the tree and starving. And along came you, the fine…

  A Season of Hearts Words fall like leaves And a gentle wind blows at my heart Words fall like leaves And a gentle breeze softly touches me Words fall like leaves And a gentle wind takes me Words fall like leaves And a gentle wind moves and caresses my floating body Words fall like leaves And a gentle wind places me softly on the earth Words fall like leaves And the wind catches and pushes me farther from your arms Words fall like leaves And I move to its rhythm Words fall like leaves And I ride and float, ride and float Words fall like leaves And I am…

I make my heroes black. Make them hard and angular self-righteous with a shroud.
I make my heroes black. Chiseled with sharp edges uncompromising in the truth.
I make my heroes black. Their actions are right and right minded.  I make my heroes black. Don’t want to mistaken my ignorance without integrity. 
I make my heroes black. Been too disappointed in my own unfounded romanticism.
They annihilated my ancestors.
I make my heroes black. They don’t shuffle or tarry long. They are stalwart and resolute.


But I digress When religious and commercial symbolism are blended together the resulting an artificial preposition is created. Are our moral compasses and prejudices based on the salient imagery creations…

  I tried to flick my hair and it sent me to the emergency room. I broken my neck trying like those white guys that swing their hair out of their face, but my hair was nappy like a short flat rug. I didn’t know who I was…. I even purchased a convertible so my hair could blow in the wind as I drove, and that was a disappointment. I tried a women’s stocking  rolled down from the top to get my head.  I tried heat to blow it out for the effect. It worked until the humidity caused it to curl. I put thick grease, Royal.Crown and My Knight…

  PART II [was originally written in 2017 and updated 2018, prior to Part I at the end] Denise was in isolation to keep the infectious bacteria from spreading. Dr Ashby or Dr Scott came early that morning, and said to my father, “she’s gone”; Denise was only four. Many years later, my mother shared that two children in the neighborhood had died, because they did not have their diphtheria shot. A boy had not had his and my sister was the other. “Nisey”, had gotten one shot, but not the other. It was a day filled with crisis, but for me at the age of six, I would experience…

Choking on America We the people We the people want our say in America Wailing blackbirds haunting notes Waiting for the song Waiting for the song Trees weeping under turbulent winds and torrent rains Bending bodies burden and stretched on a sad song Melody unfurled with anguish hollowed out pain We the people Want to sing America Crashing voices against amber red brown hues Wading in the deepest water While drowning beloved Waiting for a song Waiting for a song Open our eyes with new lies We the people We the people want our say in America Want to sing America Caught in our throats Choked on words Caged blackbirds…

  I retired from federal civil service after working 40 years at Fort Lee, Va.    Fort Lee, originally known as “Camp Lee” prior to 1917, and later renamed in 1950, is located 25 miles south of Richmond, Va. During the Civil War Gen. Ulysses S. Grant prosecuted the nine month “Siege of Petersburg”, Va., to cut a major supply line for the Confederate Army.   Fort Lee was named after Gen. Robert E. Lee, the paragon of southern nobility and the consummate confederate military leader of the Civil War— a heroic symbol. The pervasive countenance of his stately persona is a constant reminder of the general acceptance of the…

Best Birthday Ever    I was supposed to be asleep, but I waited until there was not a sound and quietly snuck downstairs to get another slice of cake. That afternoon I had my first birthday party, or at least the first one I could remember. I was 3 or 4 and my parents had it outdoors in a big gray-green Army tent, at 521-E, 22nd Street.. in the Projects.    It was dark downstairs and as I opened the “ice box” the light inside lit the kitchen. My eyes grew big as I scanned inside looking for leftover cake. My mouth watered as I reached for it… then I…

  Ivy Baptist Church, Newport News VA. is honoring my father, Eugene Clifton Boyd this Sunday (19th) for his faith and commitment to God and his church.   My father is very proud of this particular photo of himself. His countenance and pose in his work clothes for him says it all. He is beyond 90 now and doing the best he can… Typically, he ask me “where we’re going again?” And I reply, “I just told you that 3 times an hour ago.” He laughs and says, “You know my mind ain’t what it used to be, but I remember everything about…. then he regales me with stories of…

Jessica, I am in the process of writing some musings down and thoughts. I want to share this one about your dad… At VCU your father always conversed extemporaneously with this guy that was probably gay, a large overweight guy named, Saul. Well, whenever their paths crossed Frank would ask him, “Saul, What is the word of the day?” And Saul in his effeminate style, and proud intellectual manner would immediately identify an esoteric word from his vast vocabulary. Frank would give him dap for his word, intellect, and enlightenment…sharing mutual respect. And as they disengaged in conversation, Saul would intone, as he briskly walked away, “But I digress” and…