Pops wanted/ that good fine green
He wanted the same for you and me
Being physic minded like he was
Mother Mayann picking peppers by the railroad tracks
Crescent City dandelions, kettle boil that stuff
Senna plant leaves from the Land of the Pharaohs
Come across the ocean to Congo Square
Licorice rooted black as Le Dieu Bechet
Hibiscus flower tart like his second wife Lil
Jelly Roll pungent caraway seed
Marigold sacred as Papa Joe
Make you feel oh so good and swell
See a man named Pugh/ to leave it all behind.
is the author of the poetry collection Sharp Blue Stream (Three Rooms Press) and the chapbook Inspiritive (Moonstone Arts), and serves as an editor for great weather for MEDIA. He has work currently in From The Inside: NYC through the eyes of the poets who live here (Blue Light Press) and Call Me {Brackets} and upcoming in P-QUEUE and the New York Quarterly anthology Without a Doubt: Poems Illustrating Faith.
