the time is 1964
right on the dot
as a girl walks into
her mother’s closet
lips tight an’ taught
fingers tracin’ old blouses
dust bitten fraught
an’ tight sin-spinned skirts
dim in the
wardrobe’s lucent
searchin’ hot
for bumble-honey shoes
she’s seen ‘em before
in a crystal cubed container
heels ebony
tips white
humble bee wings
aflutter on each side
gossamer yellow sheen
circular in make
movin’ fleetin’ faster
than the eye can see
soon enough
she finds them pumps
hidden far far away
takin’ the top off
to blow out
time’s decay
graspin’ those shoes
wishin’ to fly fly astray
to run from color coded water
fountains an’
dirty looks on white lined streets
down upon 6th avenue
crossed taylor road
the only black block in town
crooning supremes
‘baby love
how i need you’
until she ain’t wanna
hear no more
just as she touches those shoes
the world spins crazy
an’ the closet’s gone
blurred all hazy
there’s shoes on her feet
squeezed stiff an’ a’ bruisin’
gusts of wintry wind
lickin’ her ankles
invitin’ her for a cruisin’
as she thinks: yes
her body begins to sting
like a hive too true to queue
pissed from smoke’s
offending zing
a bumble bee appears
small mellow
fat an’ striped black
cornbread yellow
mumble tumble an’ bumble
tellin’ her in hums
to follow an’
not linger
for too long
or she may not return
she blinks
an’ the world:
silent films an’ talkies
inklike an’ ivory
shoes à la mode
in this bleak of the 1920’s
the humble bee guides her
over harlem renaissance an’
black kids in streets
sprinklers sprayin’ outta
red delicious fire hydrants
napped curls stuck to foreheads
adults on rickety chairs
chain smokin an’ grumblin’
about returnin’ to africa
an’ babble
of the
jezebel flappers
an’ jazz as stars begin to wink at ‘em
the girl wants ‘em to see
her dance as she spins
with them bumble honey shoes
right foot
left foot
a 1, 2 , 3
kids
a hoppin’
with
jumprope
in the boulevard clouds
remindin’ her of mom
as she left for work
blue bonnet on her head
resignation glazin’ her gaze
that bumbly bee on her nose lands
an’ away they go
shakily landin’
atop the Eiffel tower
she spots white ladies
in sailor hats an’ tulle
grinnin’ with clutches
around pearl clasped hands
men’s money
rattlin’ an’ ringin’
a jinglin’ in trench coat pockets
the girl is confused
she ain’t know this world
1940’s glee
far away from
6th avenue
crossed taylor road
the only black block in town
‘what did I do wrong
to make you stay away so long
'Cause baby love,
my baby love’
damn bee is a hummin’
bumbly an’ brushin’ her throat
noticin’ how far she is
from gold paved ground
an’ the moneyed world
she’s trespassin’
i wanna go home
she says
foldin’ in paper thin
there’s a titter in her ear
as she’s spun topsy turvy
wings ticklin’ lobes
bound tight feet
flyin’ off once more
to igboland
an’ sapped palm wine
women carryin’
straw laced baskets
bumpin’ hips
as water sloshes
heat kissed skin
to england bound
an’ slave ships
bordering harbors
shackles on necks
bodies worn beat
but examined
as the auctioneer impatiently
taps a foot
to barnum & baileys
of blacks in cages
an’ invited physicians
experimentin’
with novelty albino’s
it’s after
leapin’ off a pyramid
sand encapsulatin’ her
grainy golden
that she realizes she’s tired
eyes a closin’
that bumble bee seems to know
gently nudgin’ her head
draggin’ her
one last place
where there’s black girls
with straight hair
an’ kinked
heeled shoes
sneaked
plum lipstick stained teeth
an’ white people not too far off
while they laugh
wonder
an’ don’t all fear
about what’s a comin’ tomorrow
except for the future
as she lands on stone steps
knockin’ on a door
dim in the
moon’s lucent
shoes loose an’ free
her mom comes outta the house
yellin’ and pullin’ her into her arms
smellin’ of greens an’ sweet tea
the only black block in town
crooning supremes
‘baby love
oh, how i need you
….in my arms why don't you stay?’
a sting in her ma’s embrace
numbin’ warm
until she ain’t wanna
let go