Wounds
Time has yet to heal
the deep mahogany wounds
of America
Lions and Lambs
“Until lions tell their tale, the story of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.” – African Proverb
What big teeth you have
lay down anyway
my grapes are not yet sweet
I promise to huff not puff
I have miles to go
I have coins for the ferryman
my house is made of glass
I will use smooth stones
I am a shiftless soul
so is sand and time
My hair is a morning storm
there is no night or day
why do we speak conjugally
I am cuffed to you
My wings nevermore inkwell
Your heart a beanstalk seed
I cannot lay with you
you lay with my keeper
god said give the other cheek
Was it a burning bush
an hourglass of rocks
mingle your wine with mine
will I enjoy this
no and it will last a lifeline
make it quick – leave a mark
tattoo with ink and art
Everyone must know I bear horse pearls.
- CZVASSER
Family Album
“A riot is the language of the unheard.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
Family Album
My 1st born should be Malcolm or Muhammad
Rare players hold the line with their lives
Crème not to be trifled
Faster than bullets and endorsements
Podiums won kicked out from under us
Hands echoed by a throng believing in a dream
You and I represent all
We build children in the image we have of them
broken upon the black man’s rack
My father rock crushes and road builds.
My mother cotton labors.
Prison rewards them
with me no better than a bushel.
Women with dry breasts feed families
scraps of soul cooked food.
Children wash their dreams away
Against armies still in blue and gray.
Fear is an auction platform
thought black men have demonstrated worth.
We sing, we dance, we play sometimes strangely
indifferently fanned by green prevailing winds.
– CZVasser
Fried Chicken & Philosophy 