Hillbilly Hood Rat Reloaded

Hillbilly Hood Rat Reloaded is a collection of poems inspired by the events and surroundings of my life. The poems address issues related to my multi-cultural upbringing in urban Washington, D.C. and rural West Virginia. The poems range from love and passion to social injustice and grief and loss. A dose or irony and comedy is mixed in order to keep it interesting.

For those who understand the beauty and struggle of living between two worlds.

I was born in 1962 in Washington, D.C., to a white mother and a Black father.

This blend of cultures shaped my voice and my soul.

Raised in the city, yet rooted in the hills of West Virginia, my life has been a tapestry of contrasts -urban and rural, Black and white.

Poetry has given me the language to share these experiences, to speak as a child, a man, a husband, and a father.

May these words offer you a glimpse into my journey,

and may they resonate with your own inner voice. These poems gave space for me to explore parts of me that are often shut down and rarely visited. It was therapeutic in many ways to explore the topics in the book. I tapped into emotions that I did not expect. I walk away from the experience of writing this book as a better person. I resolved some past pain and embraced aspects of my past that were ignored for too long. It is my desire that the readers will have some of the same experiences or they will gain insight or a different perspective by seeing life from my eyes.