If Blues, Then
Buy Issue for $25 at JHUP- If Blues, Then
bring in a dog;some-one doneprofoundly wrong;
a kitchen, two womentalking; a man anda woman talking,he lost, 3000 miles
away. Fetch somered clay, a steady rain;leave wearing oneboot and a shoe,
that's how bad.A shine-eye girl,a boy running fromthe law. The law
itself. A man calleda fellow; a womancalled my girl, my baby,my gal. The world
conspiring to addto whatever's ridingyou. You a stone,
a mule. A bendin the road; the loadtoo heavy, Lord; yesthe Lord. A crossroads,
a packet of roots, twigs,a figure in the dark [End Page 385] waiting near a lightbut you can't get there.
A seamless patternof stumbles, pauses,roadblocks.A red dress
left hanging in a closet;a pair of pants with nothingin its pockets; the dust inthe air settling slowly. [End Page 386]
Danielle Legros Georges is an assistant professor in the Arts and Learning Division of Lesley University and author of Maroon, a book of poems.
