Thursday, March 10, 2011

So My Soul Can Sing

One of my all-time favorites, freshly relevant: 

Feeling Fucked Up,
Etheridge Knight

Lord she’s gone done left me done packed / up and split

and I with no way to make her
come back and everywhere the world is bare
bright bone white crystal sand glistens
dope death dead dying and jiving drove
her away made her take her laughter and her smiles
and her softness and her midnight sighs—

Fuck Coltrane and music and clouds drifting in the sky
fuck the sea and trees and the sky and birds
and alligators and all the animals that roam the earth
fuck marx and mao fuck fidel and nkrumah and
democracy and communism fuck smack and pot
and red ripe tomatoes fuck joseph fuck mary fuck
god jesus and all the disciples fuck fanon nixon
and malcolm fuck the revolution fuck freedom fuck
the whole muthafucking thing
all i want now is my woman back
so my soul can sing


Ironically, though I hadn't thought of this poem in years, it was only a week or so before our split that I read it to Debbie and Zena.

2 comments:

Debbie said...

This story is about learning to recognize your song.

http://thisisummislegacy.blogspot.com/2010/01/african-song-inspirational-story.html

I know your song, Jeff, and will keep singing it in my heart.
Love,
Debbie

Unknown said...

Thank you, Debbie. That's a sweet place for it to be held.

Love,
Jeff