POEM FOR DAN'L

wishin' i could
write like dan'l
dan'l write,
it come out jazz
i seen words
what coo and wail
an' be some
holy poem

whereas

oft
my words
is cold and stifled
overcooked
and dry as sand
all that shit
be stoked and stoking
once i learn
to write like dan

'cause dan'l, he
improvisation
words what
roll
and
jump
and sing
in once
unknown
association,
pruned
and punned
them words
got swing

an' dan,
he spill
and spool them
words an'
stretch 'em
till their
mama's cry
an' them words
they
sing their tomes
in sounds
what's heard
through
poetry's eye

an' man you got
to understan'
that ain't nobody
write like dan