who am i thinking of

Photo via QCG.

Matthew Trezza, Staff Writer

who am i thinking of

By Ntozake Shange

(for beverly)

 

when i write    i think of my friends

the people of my visions

but how cd i presume to think of men

who leave so little behind     i find them

in my wash cloth    in the dirty dishes

by my unmade bed

when i write i erase these dark halls

lone subway stops   the car followin

too closely    how cd i presume

to address my self

to men

they leave so little behind

& still i dont remember.

once a poet

 

delivered valentino

on a tie-dyed sheet w/

tequila passion

the sheik gallopin a desert for me

another sketched me

in the midst of bougainvillea

another saturated my basement with painted skeletons

long ago a poet

telephoned from ny

to have breakfast

in seattle

 

i’ve waded in hidden creeks

with the men i remember

the others had no sense of humor

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