Poetry

sir!

Sport

Life
For him
Must be
The shivering of
A great drum
Beaten with swift sticks
Then at the closing hour
The lights go out
And there is no music at all
And death becomes
An empty cabaret
And eternity an unblown saxophone
And yesterday
A glass of gin
Drunk long
Ago.

Shout

Listen to yo’ prophets,
Little Jesus!
Listen to yo’ saints!

Fire

Fire,
Fire, Lord!
Fire gonna burn ma soul!

I ain’t been good,
I ain’t been clean⁠—
I been stinkin’, low-down, mean.

Fire,
Fire, Lord!
Fire gonna burn ma soul!

Tell me, brother,
Do you believe
If you wanta go to heaben
Got to moan an’ grieve?

Fire,
Fire, Lord!
Fire gonna burn ma soul!

I been stealin’,
Been tellin’ lies,
Had more women
Than Pharaoh had wives.

Fire,
Fire, Lord!
Fire gonna burn ma soul!
I means Fire, Lord!
Fire gonna burn ma soul!

Moan

I’m deep in trouble,
Nobody to understand,
Lord, Lord!

Deep in trouble,
Nobody to understand,
O, Lord!

Gonna pray to ma Jesus,
Ask him to gimme His hand.
Ma Lord!

I’m moanin’, moanin’,
Nobody cares just why.
No, Lord!

Moanin’, moanin’,
Feels like I could die.
O, Lord!

Sho, there must be peace,
Ma Jesus,
Somewhere in yo’ sky.
Yes, Lord!

Angels Wings

De angels wings is white as snow,
O, white as snow,
White as snow.
De angels wings is white as snow,
But I drug ma wings
In de dirty mire.
O, I drug ma wings
All through de fire.
But de angels wings is white as snow,
White as snow.

Sinner

Have mercy, Lord!

Po’ an’ black
An’ humble an’ lonesome
An’ a sinner in yo’ sight.

Have mercy, Lord!

Cora

I broke ma heart this mornin’.
Ain’t got no heart no mo’.
Next time a man comes near me
Gonna shut an’ lock ma door
Cause they treats me mean⁠—
The ones I loves.
They always treats me mean.

Workin’ Man

I works all day
Wid a pick an’ a shovel.
Comes home at night⁠—
It ain’t nothin’ but a hovel.

I calls for ma woman
When I opens de door.
She’s out in de street⁠—
Ain’t nothin’ but a ’hore,

I does her good
An’ I treats her fine,
But she don’t gimme lovin’
Cause she ain’t de right kind.

I’m a hard workin’ man
An’ I sho pays double
Cause I tries to be good
An’ gits nothin’ but trouble.

Baby

Albert!
Hey, Albert!
Don’t you play in dat road.
You see dem trucks
A goin’ by.
One run ovah you
An’ you die.
Albert, don’t you play in dat road.

Evil Woman

I ain’t gonna mistreat ma
Good gal any more.
I’m just gonna kill her
Next time she makes me sore.

I treats her kind but
She don’t do me right.
She fights an’ quarrels most
Ever night.

I can’t have no woman’s
Got such low-down ways,
Cause a blue-gummed woman
Ain’t de style now days.

I brought her from de South
An’ she’s goin’ on back
Else I’ll use her head
For a carpet tack.

A Ruined Gal

Standin’ by de lonesome riverside
After de boat’s done gone,
Po’ weary me
Won’t be nobody’s bride
Cause I is long gone wrong.

Standin’ by de weary riverside
When de boat comes in,
Po’ lonesome me
Won’t meet nobody
Cause I ain’t got no friend.

By de edge o’ de weary riverside
Night-time’s comin’ down.
Ain’t nothin’ for a ruined gal
But jump overboard an’ drown.

O, de lonesome riverside,
O, de wicked water.
Damn ma black old mammy’s soul
For ever havin’ a daughter.

Sun Song

Sun and softness,
Sun and the beaten hardness of the earth,
Sun and the song of all the sun-stars
Gathered together⁠—
Dark ones of Africa,
I bring you my songs
To sing on the Georgia roads.

Magnolia Flowers

The quiet fading out of life
In a corner full of ugliness.

I went lookin’ for magnolia flowers
But I didn’t find ’em.
I went lookin’ for magnolia flowers in the dusk
And there was only this corner
Full of ugliness.

’Scuse me,
I didn’t mean to stump ma toe on you, lady,

There ought to be magaolias
Somewhere in this dusk.

’Scuse me,
I didn’t mean to stump ma toe on you.

Red Silk Stockings

Put on yo’ red silk stockings,
Black gal.
Go out an’ let de white boys
Look at yo’ legs.

Ain’t nothin’ to do for you, nohow,
Round this town⁠—
You’s too pretty.
Put on yo’ red silk stockings, gal,
An’ tomorrow’s chile’ll
Be a high yaller.

Go out an’ let de white boys
Look at yo’ legs.

Young Gal’s Blues

I’m gonna walk to de graveyard
’Hind ma friend Miss Cora Lee.
Gonna walk to de graveyard
’Hind ma dear friend Cora Lee
Cause when I’m dead some
Body’ll have to walk behind me.

I’m goin’ to de po’ house
To see ma old Aunt Clew.
Goin’ to de po’ house
To see ma old Aunt Clew.
When I’m old an’ ugly
I’ll want to see somebody, too.

De po’ house is lonely
An’ de grave is cold.
O, de po’ house is lonely,
De graveyard grave is cold.
But I’d rather be dead than
To be ugly an’ old.

When love is gone what
Can a young gal do?
When love is gone, O,
What can a young gal do?
Keep on a-lovin’ me, daddy,
Cause I don’t want to be blue.

Hard Daddy

I went to ma daddy,
Says Daddy I have got de blues.
Went to ma daddy,
Says Daddy I have got de blues.
Ma daddy says Honey
Can’t you bring no better news?

I cried on his shoulder but
He turned his back on me.
Cried on his shoulder but
He turned his back on me.
He said a woman’s cryin’s
Never gonna bother me.

I wish I had wings to
Fly like de eagle flies.
Wish I had wings to
Fly like de eagle flies.
I’d fly on ma man an’
I’d scratch out both his eyes.

Sunset⁠—Coney Island

The sun,
Like the red yolk of a rotten egg,
Falls behind the roller-coaster
And the horizon sticks
With a putrid odor of colors.
Down on the beach
A little Jewish tailor from the Bronx,
With a bad stomach,
Throws up the hot-dog sandwiches
He ate in the afternoon
While life
To him
Is like a sick tomato
In a garbage can.

Nonette

You wound my soul with a thousand spears,
You bathe my wounds in a flood of tears,
Nonette.

You give me a rose whose breath is sweet,
Whose petals are poison and death to eat,
Nonette.

And when I am dead you do not cry,
But your heart breaks, too, and you, too, die.

Lover’s Return