Truth and Parable

Truth and Parable came into town
Parable wearing a yellow-green gown
With layers of linen, in brilliant hues,
Breeches of red, a cloak of chartreuse,
And silken scarves with curlicues
Of deepest greens and royal blues.
His multi-colored hat fobs dangling,
Pom-poms bobbing, bells a jangling.

Truth marched on at a steady gait,
Her head erect, her path quite straight,
No stitch of cloth, no staff or pack,
No rouge or ribbons, no shellac.
As plain as day, and unadorned,
As naked as when she was born.
Wrinkled brow and long in tooth,
Step after step she strode, Old Truth.

And all of the people applauded, entranced,
As Parable leaped and hopped and danced,
To the fields, to the path, to the fields, then back,
Sowing his seeds from a scarlet sack,
How he'd wind and weave; unbelievable! Parable
Seeding the barren as well as the arable.

Truth called for quiet, cleared her throat,
But the wary folk took little note.
The words of Truth were ill received.
Indeed poor Truth was not believed,
And the crowd was rude. They sneered and booed,
Laughed out loud, gave raucous jeers,
And drove her away dissolved in tears.

They turned again to the prancing Parable.
Ah so amusing, delightful, adorable,
Nothing he uttered was deemed deplorable.
Never a hint of him being unbearable,
(Though many thought his apparel un-wearable)
Bobbing and weaving and winking, Old Parable,
Blew them a kiss, one hand waving free
'Till he came upon Truth, racked with sobs, by the sea.

Tenderly Parable took Truth's hand,
Helped her to rise, brushed off the sand.
An ocean breeze made the air a bit colder.
He nestled a shawl around her shoulders,
Dressed her up in a scarf or two,
A pom-pom hat, a pointy shoe,
A bow for her hair, a cloak bright blue.
And Truth cocked her head, a tad beguiled,
Widened her eyes, and actually smiled.
She rose on her toes and sang out so loud
They heard her in town. She gathered a crowd.
And no one booed as Truth might have feared.
But they clapped their hands instead, and cheered.
And Truth's face glowed. And Parable's too.
Now arm and arm, entwined, encurled,
Tethered together, they wander the world.

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

• "Al and Bob"
• "The Lonely Puddle"
• "Ode to a Bagel"
• "The Rose"
• "Sardinia"
• "When Love's Liqueur"

Audio Recordings

• "Abu Ghraib"
• "Things About Kings"