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Poem for Our Fathers
(to all the fathers in the house)
By
Professor ARTURO
This poem is for our
fathers
This poem is for their
strengths
for the intolerance
everpresent in their world
for their pride and
disappointments
for their pleasures and
passions and promises, promises…
This poem is for our
fathers
This poem is for New
Awlins fathers
(Where they at,
girl?)
This poem is for New
Awlins men
This poem is for “Dooky”
and “Dutch” and Danny Barker
This poem is for the Big
Time Crip and Nick the Greek
This poem is for
Chopsley and Injun Red
This poem is for the
Coaches and the Roaches
This poem is for the
brother in the commercial
be hollerin’ ‘bout “LET
HER HAVE IT”
This poem is for the
English teachers and the midnight creatures
This poem is for the
strong men who keep-a comin’ on...
This poem is for
traditional men
(men in the
tradition)
This poem is for the
Kidds and the Professors
This poem is for BIG-OLD
men!!!!!
This poem is for lil’
bitty men...
This poem is for “the
Sensitive Men of the Nineties”
and the raging bulls of
the Fifties:
Men named “Rattlesnake
Dick”
Men named “Chakula”
Men named “Oglethotpe”
Men named “Gooseberry”
Men named “Greenhouse”
Men named “Delahoosay”
Men named “Hollywoo-oo-ood”
Men named
“Bu-Buttt” Men named “Bay-Bay”
Men named “Pa-Pa”
Men named “Nay-Nay”
Men named
“Pa-Dee” Men named “Tee-Tee”
Men who say “Habari Gani!?!!!”
Men who say “Wha-sssssu-u-u-uup!?!!!”
Men who dri-i-iive like
Rodney King
(and party at the
drop of a Congress cap)
GRUMBLIN’
MEN MUMBLIN’ MEN
GRAMBLIN’
MEN GAMBLIN’ MEN
ZOOT-SUITIN’
MEN BULLSHOOTIN’ MEN
dinky
men STINKY MEN
SUPER
MEN PSEUDO MEN
SUGAR
MEN BUGAR MEN
GODLY
MEN DEVILISHED MEN
Men who tell jokes
like: “Yo’ maw so fat -- when she
buy a
ticket, she say --
‘Two,
please’”
or jokes like: “Yo’ maw like a roll o’ material—
-ten
dollars a yard”!
or jokes like: “What did the monkey eat
befo’ he ate the
banana?
the cherry!”
or jokes like: “What’s yo’ maw favorite street?
--Common
St.!”
Straight-up
men Backslidin’ men
Signifyin
men Ignifying men
God-fearin’ men
Disappearin’ men
Men who try to buy love
(“Is it talkin’ to
you, daddy?”)
Men who ain’t never been
east of East New Orleans...
Project men and
Penthouse men
Poets, painters,
printers, and publishers
Bohemians and bankers
(that yang money)
Triangular offenders and
EBONY squares...
This
poem is for our fathers..,
-men who raised other men’s chirrens
like they was they own.
Men
who know ‘bout “ten minutes to two”
Men who ain’t never put
they lips there (so they say)
Men who favorite record
was “I’m a har-ar-ard fottin’ ma-an”…
Men who was on “Poke
Chop Hill” (not “Pork Chop Hill”)
Men who say “Rockyfella”
(not “Rockefeller”)
Men who say
“Huh-why-yuh” (insteada “Hawaii”)
Men who say “Terrybone”
(insteada “Terrebonne”)
Men who say “cornder” (insteada
“corner”)
Men who say “Congo
drums” (insteada “Coonga drums”)
Men who say “trumpetier”
(insteada “trumpeter”)
Men who say “umble” (insteada
“humble”)
Men who say “flustrated”
(insteada “frustrated”)
Men who say “chinees”
insteada “marbles”
Men who say Punchatrain”
insteada “Pontchartrain”
Men who say The House of
Shock” Insteada “O.P.P.”
(You
know mee-ee-ee-ee-ee…)
Men who say “San
Gabriel” (insteada “Saint Gabriel”)
Men who say ‘The Farm” (insteada
“Angola”)
Men who say “The
Plantation” (insteada “SUNO”)
Men who say “The Lil’
Plantation” (insteada “McDonogh 28”)
Men who say
“kinnygawdin” (insteada “kindergarten”)
Men who say “Primmery
School” (insteada “Primary School”)
Men who say “sweet shop”
(insteada “candy store”)
Men who say “Pell Mell”
(insteada “Pall Mall”)
Men who say “sitcheeashun”
(insteada “situation”)
Men who say “physical
year” (insteada “fiscal year)
Men who say “Mee-row”
(insteada “Miro”)
Men who say “BA-NAAAAAANAHS!!!
WA-TAH-&ME-E-E-E-LU-U-U-UNNNNNNN!!!”
Hard-workin’, pitty-pat
playin’ men
(Deep South men with
they riverfront plates o’ food)
Macdaddies and Shaq
daddies
Old daddies and New
daddies
First-time
daddies (baker’s dozen daddies)
Wunna them Richard Pryor
daddies (“This Mister Gilmore’ property”)
Wunna them “THIS MA
HOUSE” daddies
Wunna them “Git that
gobbidge out this house “right now” daddies
Wunna them
“If-you-don’t-do-it-with-yo’-hands-
(and sweat)
-- it - ain’t -- WORK” daddies
Wunna them
“Git-out-ma-life-woman—
You-don’t-love-me-no-mo-o-o-o-o-o” daddies . . .
Men who believed in
THE BELT
THE WHOLE BELT
NOTHING BUT THE BELT…
Insteada “sneakers” they
say “tennis”
Jnsteada “Mother Dear”
they say “Ma Dear”
Insteada “Hi, darling”
they say “Hey ba-a-a-a-aby”
Insteada “How are you?”
they say “Where y’at!?!”
Insteada “Dew-key
Chase” they say “deh-key Chase”
Insteada “My woman left
me” they say “She kicked me to the curve”
Insteada “cocktail” they
say “highball”
Insteada “frozen cups”
they say “hucklebucks”
Insteada “scooters” they
say “skatemobiles” or “skatin’ trucks”
Insteada “Rose-avelt”
they say “Roozevelt”
Insteada “fight” they
say “humbug”
lnsteada “tumblin’ “they
say “tumble-settin’”
Insteada “robe” they say
“housecoat”
Insteada “Bo-yay” they
say “BO-LEO”
Insteada “bang-bang”
they say “Pie-yah-ah-ah-ah…!”
Insteada “retirement
community” they say “old folks home”
Insteada “electoral”
they say “electorial”
Inateada “upset stomach”
they say “loose bowels”
Insteada “Did you hear
me?” they say “YA’ HEARD ME?!!??”
Insteada “Bourbon
Street” they say “Sweet Lorraine’s”
(that’s a commercial)
Insteada “Yes, you’re
correct” they say “Yeah ya-right”
Insteada “Sure, you’re
correct” they say “Sho ya-right”
Insteada “I know that’s
Correct” they say “I know that’s right”
Insteada “Who is that?”
they say “Who dat?”
They say Louis Armstrong
insteada Herb Alpert
They the Duke of Earl
insteada David Duke
They say Eddie
Jefferson insteada George Jefferson
They say Buster Crabbbe,
Buster Brown, and James Arness
(the real
Matt Dillon)
They say Sidney Bechet
insteada Kenny G.
(Fatha, Fatha)
Men like yo’ grampa
and his paw and yo’
nanann’ parann and her paw and that
no-good hooligan she was foolin’ with
way uptown who was tellin’ that girl
he was gon’ marry her (and never did)
Men who git drunk at the
picnic -- every year
(and think
they Frankie Beverly)
Men who still
debate about which cowboy had the best hoss...
Men who came home from
World War II--
bragging of their antics and exploits
(“I had so much fun in Paris I wish they’
fight agin’”)
Old School, Ancient
School, Methoozalla School men
Them
“Yes-sir, No-sir, 1-gotta-listen-to-this-mess-
‘cause-I-gotta-family-to-feed” men...
The indispensables:
bellhops and
bus drivers
porters and
waiters
contractors and cigar makers
house painters and horse players
longshoremen, merchant marines,
preachers
and pimps
(“What a
difference a cross makes...”)
Men who played with they
chirrens in warm,
Lake Pontchartrain
waters...
Bourbon Street bouncers
Favorite uncles
Brothers in the ‘Nam
CHIEFS!!
EXECUTIVES!!! OFFICERS!!!
Transient residents of
Tulane & Broad
Woof men howling at the
wayward wind...
Fathers and lovers
Nephews and brothers and
husbands who love they oldladies
and mens foolin’ ‘round
behind they backs
(Ramblin’ Ro-o-o-o-ose…)
and mens who done made the baby
with that girl ‘round the way
and ain’t even claimin’ that child...
For our fathers…
their riches and wishes
black socks and their
dishes
their dreams and
devotions
their schemes and their
potions
their creams and their
lotions
and stories
and glories
love cries
and lives
-legacies,
unending
EVERLASTING…
This poem is for our
fathers...
* * * *
*
posted 23 August 2007 |
