I Gave My Heart to That Woman

By Rudolph Lewis

And look at her now, water to her eaves

flood logged & toxic floors, dead body faced

down in sludge. Who mourns nameless souls

alone with rats & dogs that feast on the dead

Where now brown cow, your hide in seven

fold shadows & sadness. Where you now

Shequita of the East. Conjure black sofa love

on Piety in that warehouse called Copastetic

Where’s the Bottom Line, music & flesh &

beauty on every floor, dancing & laughter?

Look what they done done—you, lifted up

in Slave Market Square, for the highest bid

Chains, slave pens, spirit guides, they sold you

down the river. Where’s my boat? My getaway?

Flooded, drown, rivers to cross. Where's

Utah? Minnesota? Oakland? Nashville? Ohio?

Can I leave my lover behind? Can I begin again?

Can we make our Fa? Or is all just a scream?

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posted 23 September 2005