LOVESURVIVES: Where Nothing Else Should
Because survival is love’s first language.
At the treacherous edges of America, resilience is rebellion. Here, desire defies the ashes of despair; rage roars from throats choked by generations of injustice; and love endures.
From streets ablaze with fear, these poems scream back, fists raised in flames and declare: we have survived darkness before—and we will again.
This collection is an unbroken testimony to the defiant, a fierce chorus of those who refuse to disappear.
They hold each other in the inferno, stand unbowed in the embers of resistance, and burn bright to the last breath: we are here.
WE BURN, WE LOVE, WE SURVIVE.
PUBLICATIONS
A WIDE STANCE AND FISTS ON HIPS AT THE SLOP (SIMS LIBRARY OF POETRY)
~ Part ars poetica, part spiritual manifesto, this poem celebrates the transformative power of writing, self-respect, and creative community. It reminds us that the hardest act of courage is often choosing ourselves without apology.
GRADUATION EXERCISE FOR STUDENTS ON THE FRONT
~ A coming-of-age poem rooted in the streets of Compton, this work reflects on the lessons learned outside the classroom—where poverty, addiction, and resilience shaped an unexpected education. It honors those who survived long enough to earn degrees in grit, perseverance, and hope.
IF DAPHNE MONET WERE TO CONVERSE WITH BELL HOOKS
~ A dramatic conversation between Walter Mosley's enigmatic Daphne Monet and bell hooks explores race, identity, passing, and the courage to choose authentic love over survival. This poem asks what becomes possible when a woman refuses to let history define her worth.
LIVING WITH TINNITUS
What begins as the persistent ringing of tinnitus expands into a meditation on urban noise, conflict, and the human longing to be heard. The poem explores how silence, memory, and survival become intertwined in a world where everyone struggles to find their voice.
CODE OF SILENCE
Blending civic protest with historical memory, this poem confronts institutional silence surrounding police violence and public accountability. It asks what democracy becomes when those entrusted to protect the people refuse to hear them.
WEEPING MAY LAST THROUGH THE NIGHT, BUT JOY COMES WITH THE MORNING (PSALM 30:5)
Inspired by Psalm 30 and the political divisions of contemporary America, this poem examines deception, injustice, and the struggle to preserve hope. It argues that joy is not passive optimism, but an act of resistance grounded in truth and collective action.
Watts UpRise
Launched July 13, 2022
Watts UpRise is a finalist of the 2022 Press 53 Award for Poetry and a featured poem, “Compton, An Energy-Fueled Dark Star” is nominated for a 2021 Pushcart Prize.
PUBLICATIONS
COMPTON COLLEGE STUDENTS HOLD WEED-STANK BREATH IN A 2001 PONTIAC AZTEK
Sheriff Deputy’s creeping black and white, flashing red lights, their CrownVic stopping steep
PEOPLE GET READY
Mayfield lit the torch in black dark, said Keep on Pushing when kept apart
T-45 CONTAGION
Donald J. Trump’s hiss hollows me his virulence, like swindlers, sidle up to travelers armchair quarterbacks. Dreading deadly colds, flu, I shudder, afraid
CYCLING TO DEATH (COP-OUT)
Riding his bicycle on a sidewalk riding his bike on the wrong side his bike didn’t have lights his bike safe from The Rona infected buses he stole a glance at a two sheriff’s deputies a reservoir of resentment
ANGER MANAGEMENT IN A TIME OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND RIOTOUS GRIEF
First, understand what you call “a riot” was the Watts rebellion ending our 1965 Little League season. No last-inning strikeout but choking smoke, thick of burning rubber. No walk-off homerun, but smoldering wood.
MY DECORATION (THE JANITOR’S MONOLOGUE)
They call me the weed killer them that argue it’s medical value—sure—assume everyone’s sick and in need of a cure.
VIDEOS
Check out this great video where I read three poems.
Check out this great video with Doug Manuel
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