Michael, Max and Me

Remembering Michael Johnson From his wife, Sandra Johnson I met Michael online He was in the Bronx I was in Brazil After seven months of talking He flew to Brazil with a ring We were married for fifteen years I loved this dry tough black man Who was not for everyone But perfect for me […]

Prison Lawyer

Remembering Eric William Warner By Hank Warner We grew up collecting pollywogs after big rains Eric and I Adventuring new horizons on bikes Imitating major leaguers in the schoolyard And singing along to “American Pie” Eric and I Life was simple Life was good Then things changed Eric and I grew apart Until he began […]

A Nap-By-The-Beach Kind of Guy

Remembering Mohammad Jawed By his daughters, Ghazal, Hannah and Fareen   Our dad was born in Pakistan He became a doctor and settled in Corbin, Kentucky Where he practiced for 23 years He was game for just about anything I wanted to paint his toenails He was, like, “OK” Just really chill A nap-by-the beach […]

I Was Doing Time, Time Was Not Doing Me

Remembering Darrell Billy Parks By Trena Parks I was doing time, time was not doing me . . . I accepted my sentence, an unfair sentence For an accidental murder while crazed on coke The judge didn’t hear my cry for help He only saw my black skin And sentenced me to 100 years in […]

Blues Man

Remembering Wade Hickam From his family and the Moe Ribbs Blues Band (Rich Greenberg, co-founder) Wade Hickam picked up a guitar When he was seventeen And never put it down again A natural self taught musician He rocked with his guitar Until he discovered the blues In a rundown downtown bar He put his foot […]

I’m Sorry, I’m Sorry . . .

Remembering Hisaki Araya By Masaki Araya “I’m sorry, I’m sorry “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” you said As our mother nursed her forehead where you hit her “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” you said As the police officers handcuffed you and took you away Since then, you lived in an institution Schizophrenia stripping away your mind, your […]

The Woman Who Tried to Fly

Remembering Dr. Nola Mae Moore From the Moore family Nola Mae Moore, our fierce and beloved mother Championed patient and physicians’ rights She met dad on the bus to Army Reserve bootcamp And practiced medicine with him for 30 years Born in the kitchen of a 40 acre farm in Barron County, Wisconsin She could […]

He Loved His Red Fusquinha

Remembering Celio Salgueiro From his daughter, Joselia Reis Dinaj Composer: Jon Grier My father, Celio Salgueiro Came to the America,1982, a better life to bloom For many years we were apart Until one day, he sent for us, until one day he sent for use When I arrived in my new home, a small apartment […]

Rancher Raymond’s Last Sunset

Remembering Raymond Reeves From the Reeves’ family Composer: Robert Howard Our Dad Raymond led a storybook life, A proud Texas rancher A man who would place his kids on a new horse Just after bucked off by another He loved old western movies and his country music And like anyone growing crops for a living, […]

Sunday Dinners

By Leslie Lamar Parker Composer: Dorian Wallace When great-grandmother died… When Little Mama, she died. Great-grandmother died… So did her Sunday dinners Packed into Little Mama’s house I ate macaroni and cheese, and collard greens, yam Cornbread, potato salad, fried chicken And as much as I could smuggle To the kids’ table When great-grandmother died… […]