Reality Show
- Reality Show
An editor . . . wrote back that she liked the 'Negro' poems best . . . requested that Gwendolyn [Brooks] approach Knopf again when she had more of these.
—Amy Sickels
News
It is like a love for men, thisLove of language, and we areMen at war, says the news.No matter how long we speakEnglish, English means notTo count us or to count usDarkly, but I know whatI want and so does channel 4.They give it to me, one heapAfter another: soldiers who,Following another battle, shed,Sweat, and spit like fountains.
The Housewives
All dese negroes calln us cuteBut aint nobody tryna pay de light bill
Brothas on both coasts sayin Damn youSexy But not one payin dis light bill
And here our grinnin ass go after each Compliment Lettin de fine ones cop a feel [End Page 99]
Talk Show
We can talk loveIf you want,Though I need fuel,Need bread, bed,And sex. I goTo my pocketFor change. One nickelFails me, so I findAnother, dead manAt my finger, monumentAgainst my thumb. Take,For instance, our love.Take or give it away,Or sell it for allI care, for the nextNickel I pinch, not muchMoney to debate or makeYou stay longEnough to turn onThe TV where we seeThe real world doneAnd watch a manGrin then runA finger throughHis enemy's hair.
The Bachelor
All dese negroes swear Im cuteBut none of em payin dis light bill
Liars in Lithonia and doctors in Detroit sayDamn you sexy But dey won't pay dis light bill
Still my ass go grinnin after each Gold toothed word I can feel feel feel [End Page 100]
Jericho Brown is Assistant Professor at Emory University. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in journals and anthologies including, The American Poetry Review, Boston Review, The New Yorker, Oxford American, The New Republic, and The Best American Poetry. His first book, PLEASE (New Issues, 2008), won the American Book Award, and his second book, THE NEW TESTAMENT, is forthcoming from Copper Canyon Press.
