Poem For A Lady Whose Voice I Like

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so he said: you ain’t got no talent 
  if you didn’t have a face 
  you wouldn’t be nobody

and she said: god created heaven and earth 
  and all that’s Black within them

so he said: you ain’t really no hot shit 
  they tell me plenty sisters 
  take care better business than you

and she said: on the third day he made chitterlings 
  and all good things to eat 
  and said: “that’s good”

so he said: if the white folks hadn’t been under 
  yo skirt and been giving you the big play
  you’d a had to come on uptown like everybody else

and she replied: then he took a big Black greasy rib
  from adam and said we will call this woeman and her 
  name will be sapphire and she will divide into four parts 
  that simone may sing a song

and he said: you pretty full of yourself ain’t chu

so she replied: show me someone not full of herself 
  and i’ll show you a hungry person

© Nikki Giovanni