Tallahatchie

1st Place winner – Meridian Community College Poetry Competition
Honorable Mention – Tallahatchie Riverfest Poetry Competition
Published in Birmingham Arts Journal

Tippah to Leflore, three Mississippi

voices, Yalobusha, Yazoo, and you,

move through clover, piney woods and red clay

hills where cattle graze in sultry southern

heat. Springtime trims you in pink lousewort, blue

celestrial lilies and yellow stargrass.

Come summer, Queen Anne’s Lace and king cotton

clothe your borders in summer snow. Before

white man drove his fists into your chest, you,

Rock of Waters, quenched the thirst of Choctaws

and Chickasaws, filled their bellies with bream

and buffalo fish, guided canoes up

and down your winding spine. Once thought shallow

and insignificant, you proved all wrong,

rising up to wash away what man tried

to destroy. How many tears did you cry

for the black boy wrapped in wire and cotton

gin fan, hurled into your mouth to swallow

like fishing line? What else did bigotry

force you to hide? The Staple Singers sang

Freedom Highway and Mattie Delaney

belted out the blues for you, and even

Billie Joe forsook his lover on Cry

Baby Bridge to be cradled in your arms.

No one knows why. You, Tallahatchie, hold

the truth close to your bosom. Run, run, run,

Prodigal son, through blood stained terrain, loss

or gain, mindless of shame, seep into rich

black soil, tickle the toes of magnolias,

maples, pines, and oaks. Riding your currents,

we close our eyes listening for your stories.