Her Blues Wasn’t Blue Enough

by Edward M. Garnes, Jr. ©

The joint below is an excerpt from Garnes’ introspective poetry collection Like Sweet Tea On A Hot Summer Day to published on Homegrown (2009).

her blues
wasn’t blue enough

so she supported and snorted white
biding her time
high on cloud nine
reminiscent of a kite

her blues
wasn’t blue enough

it was all about the green
turning tricks
for a pimp name Slick
on the boulevard of obscene

her blues
wasn’t blue enough

so she dabbled in yellow bright as the sun
bleaching her skin on a whim
long stringy weaves like Lil Kim
cuz she say blonds have more fun

her blues
wasn’t blue enough

so she finally decided on red
slitting her wrists
citing lack of patience
and dehumanizing images fed

Award winning writer, educator, counselor, and activist Edward M. Garnes, Jr. is the founder of From Afros to Shelltoes: Art, Action, and Conversation, a nationally acclaimed series of cultural productions confronting the social divide between elders and hip hop heads. The 2009 Atlanta Tribune Man Of Distinction holds a B.A. in English Writing from DePauw University and a M.A. in Counseling from Michigan State University . His seminal essay, ” Sweet Tea Ethics: Black Luv, Healthcare, and Cultural Mistrust,” currently appears in Not In My Family: AIDS in the African American Community, a 2007 NAACP Image Award nominated collection edited by Gil Robertson. (www.afrostoshelltoes.com).

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