A selection from the poet’s very early twenties.

*****

Recorded Reading (0:55): https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/jez3abe2fbdh85wxtjz67/been-put-down.mp3?rlkey=zdhkfumuj9v61kfz28vd0ily5&dl=0

*****

been put down

been put
down,
lord…

ma head is hangin
so low
ma hair is brushin
ma knees
and sways all
brown an gnarled like
branches in the breeze

been put
so far down, man
a dozen jazz
bass violins
could not be lower
i’m slower

pushin it hard
just to walk
swallowin down
before i talk

the world is a
complex maze
immersed in a
psychosomatic haze

been put
down
so
low,
oh

that ma ears
are lower than ma
el-
bows

*****

This poet presently lives at a fraction of her nation’s poverty level.

Arts patrons may visit http://www.UgiftABLE.com , using code #72D-31S, or choose to send a personal check to the poet’s ABLE account. It takes about two weeks for the poet to be notified of your patronage.

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