And the Colored Girls Sing
And the colored girls sing (A tribute to Lou Reed)
“Sugar Plum Fairy came and hit the streets”
Dragging the soul of a contender
who painted crooked lines and dotted futures
Spinning lies on the edges of gossamer wings,
then lickin her lips, black as night patterned velvet
while tracing underground sidewalks in glittered graffiti
and menu’d offerings
“Lookin' for soul food and a place to eat”
Digging in the pockets of her intended victims,
tossing lint to the curb in puddles of drool
Singing in a voice louder than her grumbling stomach
now exposed to the harsh winter of tomorrow
as foot soldier scarves in drab green
wrap her twisting ankles from the cold
“Went to the Apollo”
Standing in a long line for a ticket
to this sold out show, basking in the marquee lights
Collecting auditions from drifters
and finding her melody in a passing taxi,
yellow as her checkered present,
ignoring her cries to be ridden
“You should have seen him go, go, go”
Exhaust fumes mixed with knock off Channel #5
and scraping stiletto heels sparking on the emotions
of an ill fitting t-shirt with Lou Reed’s face stretched
to the limits of her darkly carved wild side,
she falls in line, fourth from the right
as metronome earrings sway in rhythm
“and the colored girls sing…”
The quoted lines are from the Lou Reed song, “Walk on the Wild Side”
Copyright © Chris Green | Year Posted 2017
Post Comments
Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.
Please
Login
to post a comment