James Emanuel Poems

Pin-        La-         SCATS :
      ball        dy
tis-               tas-         bumps
     ket raps        ket,                back.
...

Repeatedly, that sturdy stump in me
bears up like stone,
beneath some ritual I see:
the blinding axe
...

Stairstep music: ups,
downs, Bill Robinson smiling,
jazzdancing the rounds.
...

In town to sell his fruit, he saw her—
Françoise in her summer slacks—
turning to him, coming back
to feel the swelling plums,
...

« I sing the LORD'S songs »
(palms once tough to stay alive,
alarm clock on five).
...

Always searching, may you find;
if you run-down,
may you wind;
every year
...