tribute to an artist and brother direct/a (for Dale Ricardo Shields) * by Toni King
trickster, traveler
trumpet for life
i saw you
ticking off the minutes to
showtime
the writing on your shoes
the winning number each one held
after five minutes of your time
daddy dale falling from the tongues
of tough guys
the secret language of comrades
in truth
i saw you
teach/a, preach/a, motivate/a
living lean, edgy, keen
lifting large
so their lives could talk back
make plain
speak a mountain into volcanic ash!
tribute to an artist
and brother direct/a
toni c. king (C) All rights reserved
1/2/2012 for Dale
