It is a dark and foreboding night.
The moon has run and hid its light
...
The setting sun in the winter skies
Reflected dimly in the old man's eyes.
On a patio porch in a plastic chair
Close beside him his dog lay there.
...
Night Terrors
Whippoorwill calls in the swamp at night,
Lonely soul, flies it's fluttering flight.
...
Little Baby, Little Toy,
Daddy's Darling, Momma's Joy.
Sleeping Quietly, Angel Eyes,
Never Laughing, Never Cries.
...
The Chattahoochee River is muddy and deep,
Rolls restless in her bed, and never sleeps.
She churns, whirls, and sometimes creeps,
But the Chattahoochee River never sleeps.
...
Grandpa was apt to play when Grandma was away.
She went to Florida with her siblings for to stay.
Grandpa shined his boots and donned a new white shirt.
He slicked down his hair and made sure his hat was square.
...
The son of an illiterate sharecropper who was raised in poverty. Finished high school in 1959 and moved to Florida, New York City, California and spent time in Central America. Went to college at Rancho Santiago College and Cal State Fullerton as well as classes in several other colleges. Retired as a mechanical engineer at age 54. Began writing poetry and short stories about his youth growing up in the red clay country of Coffee County, Alabama. Winner of several awards for short stories and national contests. Published poems and short stories in several anthologies and history books. At age 72 lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee.)
Night In A Negro Graveyard
It is a dark and foreboding night.
The moon has run and hid its light
The pine trees stand shrouded in gloom.
Yellow-eyed owl forecasting his doom.
Gravestones lay broken, scattered about,
A good night for ghouls to wander out.
Deserted road snakes through the swamp
The earth lies moldy, soggy, and damp
A sound comes low, barely heard
It floats in the mist, Is it a word?
The owl goes quiet, cold with fear
It is the sound of death he can hear.
Words whispered I hear, “welcome home.”
My heart falters, there’s a clank of bone,
Upon my ear a message comes clear,
'We have been waiting for you here.'
“Come lay down with us forever more,
Your grave is dug, it’s an open door,
When you entered here you came to stay,
Your eternal journey starts here today.
From a dark cold grave I can see,
A black shadow rise and come at me,
Stares into my soul with blazing eyes,
Moans a sound like a woman’s cries.
Beckons me toward an open grave, it says,
“Enter here now, for you are already dead, ”
Loudly I cry, “I yet live as you can see,
I will as long as someone loves me.”
“Then say their name, ” the wisp was undaunted,
“For it is written, you are a man that’s unwanted.”
My heart falls as I struggle about
To find someone’s love I can tout.
But no one cares and my heart goes cold,
As the demon drags me toward that hole.
To those I leave and those who I love
Love each other while your still above.
So when the time comes you can give,
That name you can say that lets you live.
Finis
The green hand of you fertilizing flowers of words, to smile in the garden of poetry.. but in your other hand may also dancing in a sheet like a butterfly you did on flower, coz each of your poetry yo done with confident to share about your experiences, your sighted mind, witnessing for all time around you...just like a butterfly tell story for flowers about the journey that they cant go...Keep using your hands Willie to create a green land, aromatic garden in this poetry field _Unwritten Soul