Masks, Trumpets, Gris, Gris and Us
what of women like us
undefinable
women taught to
love men feverishly
be August humidity and
fried fish smell on them
taught to be
Bourbon Street
Saint Charles elegant
Desire Project
broken bottle
sharp, dangerous?
what of women like us
haunting
lullaby, hurricane
tornado
women
taught to wear chapel veils
to play Bach with our eyes
secondline with our hips
carry razors, bibles
bouquets of thorny roses
to sweeten the air with
desire, death or
us women
dancing
laveau dancing women
taught to play
blackjack, roll dice
shoot pool
bet on us women
taught to ride
the Mississippi’s crest
kiss the sun and name
our unborn children
after undiscovered planets?
what of women like us
who are strange enough
to be desired but
too untamed
to ever be
possessed?
Copyright©1996 jonetta rose barras
From the collection The Corner is No Place for Hiding
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