hurrah

a brutal line drive slices sharply
starting southwest then due east into the sun
over green field raked dust custom
over fading fence into sports shirts called out over radio
strikezone dizzy disappearing
snap go fling take swing bunt
depression safe out in bluesky brightlights
howl swear run jump fight

memorial stadium from shallow center at sunrise
(anheuser-busch forced the browns out of st. louis and other team owners forced bill veeck out of baseball, temporarily, and the orioles landed at memorial stadium in 1954)

some part of you down there

singing all over
deep rivers
no ways tired this far
day after day born
turning around you
in pleasure and grief
speak in red rising sun a few days more
fields of gold pure water
for never yes forever
bound to earth
explode in lightning

lyric at sunrise
(lyric music hall owners refused to have marian anderson perform there in 1953, but relented in 1954, to the joy of a sell-out audience)

calm afterstorm

after blasts of yells and blows
burn off with fog and mist
block walls painted light green drip
in halls without windows on copper skies
or with grated windows and crossed shadows
children move and pass as whispers
short and long
plump and lank
pale and brown so beautiful
shining tracks
elfish light
blue black green and orange
body of brothers sisters winding into rope
on a lonesome way thru tripping feet and spilled food
on a whirl spinning around
they row

southern high school at sunrise
(after several days of nasty confrontations and some arrests in 1954, students at newly integrated southern high school on warren avenue somehow persevered)

aint there nobody

our heritage irrational fear
disorder
powerlessness
flee into no diagnosis
self-medicate
ahhhypnotherapy demagoguery
newspapers is all
liars

school number 34 at sunrise
(in 1954 racists in pigtown protested school integration at elementary school number 34 on carey street and washington boulevard)

hobby farms

summers in lyndhurst
bundles of hay and rights
hardwood and natural capital
wild sunflowers crows
walk on sparkle of water
live upon land everlasting
roam over josephs horses
sliced bread and scattered crumbs

roekby road at sunrise
(the last keelty rowhouse built in the city was erected in 1954 in edmondson village)

viewing rooms

nasty business
from a promontory
stands in wet white linen
floats down to ships
on streets and alleys
touring
in scenery and repose

belvedere at sunrise
(the sheraton belvedere, on chase and charles streets, desegregated at christmas in 1954 for a month, before re-segregating at the demand of racist city business leaders)