One More Autumn

We have the gift

of one more autumn—

together.

One more time to hold

hands and make plans.

The clear sky

is blue like

your eyes.

The leaves are

spun gold

like your hair.

Do I dare

to compare

you to an

Autumn

Day?

Alas,

Autumn but

foreshadows

the coming of winter,

snow & ice

and silent death.

So while autumn

lasts—

Let’s hold each

other tight

and love with

all our might.

We are gifted

with one more

Autumn

& all its beauty.

Ralph Ellison’s race classic “Invisible Man” banned in North Carolina

Ralph Ellison’s race classic “Invisible Man” banned in North Carolina
Can you believe that a school board would ban a classic such as Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man?
Ignorance is one of the most dangerous things in the world.

"I love Jesus, but I drink a little"

Margarie was a good Christian woman,

but she loved Seagram’s gin

almost as much as she

loved Jesus—

Almost.

She had her daily

devotion  with

a little tonic water

and two ice cubes.

Now don’t get me wrong—

she was a good Christian woman,

but she didn’t like colored people.

Why?

She didn’t know, but

Her Daddy, Big Jim,

hated them, too.

Margarie was a good Christian

woman. Just ask Reverend Sikes,

or  John Deare

who lived on Maple Street.

They both said she

“was a good woman”

after sharing her bed.

When Margarie died

the whole town

turned out.

On her tombstone

was writ in big

 block letters:

Margarie Johnson:

1924-1992

Good Mother

Good Wife.

She was a good

Christian woman.

                        

"What She Said" by Billy Collins

Devil Moon

Blame it on the August Moon

that waned way too soon.

From fall's eve until December   

she burned like an ember.

Come February and Valentine's Day

her love cooled like an Arctic bay.

Soon her white hot ardor turned to frost—

between us a frozen lake to cross

Her honey-dripped kisses and

good morning hazel eyes

frosted over deceit and lies.

Blame it on that devil Moon

that waxed and waned too soon.

Blame it all on                                                           

that August Moon.

                                                David Cooper

                                                Louisville, KY

Ephemeral

The mayflies dance and writhe

In joie de vivre

for just one day in May

mating again and again,

then the silence.

To the immortal gods

you and I—love—

are just two Mayflies

writhing on our bed

but for a day

and then we turn

back to clay.

David Cooper 8/13/13