Say
Root Chakra
Sorrel Root Tonic
Blood Orange Sunrise
Murder Capital Gains
Can’t Buy Respect
Love And Light
Smiles recognized
Unlock memories and affirmations
Yemanja dances
The battles are being won
The phones – down and off
The children are safe outside again
Parents crack crawfish and count cards
Rose and velvet tongued cackling
Into flesh
Broken languages and flushed faces
Feet in the mud
Clay-born
Climbing climate
The sun dressing the city sexy
Steam superimposed over sweat
Callouses and fire

Joao Amos is a New Orleans Raised writer who evacuated to New York for Hurricane Katrina.  There they discovered Slam poetry at the Urban Word Writing Workshop.  Upon returning to New Orleans to graduate from Lusher Charter with a concentration in creative writing, Joao received the Scholastic Silver Medal.

Joao is the co-founder of The Fort Writer’s Workshop (along with Sharita and Tyree) which will expand into a local non-profit creative writing initiative with the goal of developing and publishing new writers and performers.  Stay tuned as The Fort will publish their first collection this winter!  We’ll have more information on this at Big Easy Magazine when it comes!  Joao currently resides in Mid-City.

Editor’s Note:  Make sure you check out Big Easy Magazine’s past featured poets!  This includes work by Tyree, Julia, and Nolan!