“she dont seem afrikan enuf to know bt . . .”
“seems she’s dabblin in ghetto-life . . .”
why dont you go on & integrate a
german-american school in st. louis mo./ 1955/ better yet
why dont ya go on & be a red niggah in a blk school in 1954/
i got it/ try & make one friend at camp in the ozarks in 1957/
crawl thru one a jesse james’ caves wit a class of white kids
waitin outside to see the whites of yr eyes/ why dontcha invade
a clique of working-class italians tryin to be protestant in a jewish
community/ & come up a spade/ be a lil too dark/ lips a lil too full/
hair entirely too nappy/ to be beautiful/ be a smart child tryin to be
dumb/ you go meet somebody who wants/ always/ a lil less/ be
cool when yr body says hot & more/ be a mistake in racial integrity/
an error in white folks’ most absurd fantasies/ be a blk girl in 1954/
who’s not blk enuf to lovinly ignore/ not beautiful enuf to leave
alone/ not smart enuf to move outta the way/ not bitter enuf to die
at a early age/ why dontcha c’mon & live my life for me/ since the
poems aint enuf/ go on & live my life for me/ i didnt want certain
moments at all/ i’d give em to anybody/
From nappy edges