I think of my poems as personal and public at the same time. You could say they serve as psychological overlays. One fits on top of the other, and hopefully there's an ongoing evolution of clarity.

Poets are seen as the caretakers of language, so working with words no matter what the form is what we do.

Whoever said men hit harder when women are around, is right. Word for word, we beat the love out of each other.

I see many black males grasping for some thread of hope. There are so many destructive practices, glimpses into a psychic abyss. That must be very frightening.

It wasn't a deliberate decision to become a poet. It was something I found myself doing - and loving. Language became an addiction.

I close my eyes and can see men drawing lines in the dust. America pushes through the membrane of mist and smoke, and I'm a small boy again in Bogalusa.

I think of my poems as personal and public at the same time. You could say they serve as psychological overlays. One fits on top of the other, and hopefully there's an ongoing evolution of clarity.