As Some Fertile Seed
As some fertile seed sends forth its root
To suck the sleeping rain beneath the sod,
Then thrusts away the soil to raise it’s shoot
And sprouts its winged leaves unto its God,
So my love for thee grows, uncontained,
Driven by a power beyond all Art.
What sun has shined, whose tender tears have rained
Upon that seed you planted in my heart?
Who can claim the credit, who the blame?
Mother Earth, or Heaven’s flowing tears?
The eye of Horus or Apollo’s flame?
Not anything which to the eye appears…
But thy God-given soul whose magic powers
Raised such leaves as these – and oh, the flowers.

New Poems
- "Battle Hymn of the Republic, Indeed"
- "Ode to a Banana"
- "Moving on After 1/6"
- "Hug"
- "Map-less Monarchs"
- "I am Such a Rich Man"
- "Beatitude with Attitude"
- "The Cross and the Lynching Tree Rap"
- "The Nudist Nun"
- "Sonnet 19"
- "Reparations Now"
- "Hoping I'm Wrong"
- "Bird Feeder"
- "Pete and Henry"
- "Nero: A Rap for Republicans"
- "Croissant"
- "Mandela"
- "The New Jim Crow"
- "The Wire"
- "Why Socialism?"
From By Heart
- "Ahiti"
- "As Some Fertile Seed"
- "Greed Screed"
- "I Sing the Ass"
- "Lying Lost Among Your Arms"
- "Now Thou Art Two and Twenty"
- "Sweet Smellin Woman"
- "This World"
- "Train Wreck"
- "Truth and Parable"
- "Why This Itch This Yen"
- "You"
Some Earlier Poems
Audio Recordings