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if you can't be free, be a mystery

sweetpotatosweetpotato Posts: 1,278
edited March 2008 in Poetry, Prose, Music & Art
a voice
deeper than most
deeper than a woman's ought to be
wrought by pain
and beauty

men
came and went
used and abused
loved and lost interest
but always,
she owned her voice

lovely
and scarred
black
and blue
deep
and soaring

forever, her voice will haunt
the dreams of those
who never heard it
for it is woman,
defined

tasting
the strange fruit
i shudder
and wish her peace







for billie
"Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States, Barack Obama."

"Obama's main opponent in this election on November 4th (was) not John McCain, it (was) ignorance."~Michael Moore

"i'm feeling kinda righteous right now. with my badass motherfuckin' ukulele!"
~ed, 8/7
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • pearljamgirl07pearljamgirl07 Posts: 792
    it's nice! but the title calls my attention...I love it.
    "You're the eve of my destruction in the garden of fears"
  • sweetpotatosweetpotato Posts: 1,278
    pearljamgirl07 wrote:
    it's nice! but the title calls my attention...I love it.

    yes, i love the title also. i actually "stole" it from a biography of billie holiday. i wanted to find out if that line was taken from a song of hers or someone else's, but when i googled it i only came up with the book i mentioned, and a youtube video of poet rita dove reading her own poetry, which i scanned and didn't find the line anywhere. if anyone knows its origin, i'd love to know! in the meantime, it's mine! :)
    "Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States, Barack Obama."

    "Obama's main opponent in this election on November 4th (was) not John McCain, it (was) ignorance."~Michael Moore

    "i'm feeling kinda righteous right now. with my badass motherfuckin' ukulele!"
    ~ed, 8/7
  • SpunkieSpunkie i come from downtown. Posts: 6,680
    mystery is mystery to me
    wonder your love of billie
  • theskyabovetheskyabove Posts: 77
    i thought you might be composin' bout Nina Simone, at first. billie rocked the house


    "i love my man, i'm a liar 'f i say I don't...." :D
  • DharmaBum07DharmaBum07 Posts: 7
    The poem reminds me a character named Billie in "Big Sur" by Jack Kerouac...

    Personally, I really found the stanza at the end to be very poignant and impactful.

    Also the title is very interesting too...
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