Just As She Was - a Tribute To Cicely Tyson

Just a wisp of a girl, dainty as a rose Dark as the color of bitter-sweet cocoa From her short hair to her perky nose A black queen from the Big Apple’s ghetto As a girl, she often sucked her fingers Obtaining that infamous, toothy overbite The memory of the dirty slums still lingers So gracious, sweet, and habitually polite She got pregnant at the age of seventeen Yet, she pursued her dream to be an actress Mama’s church girl, spiritually quarantined She loved to model; her beauty was breathless Why did we applaud her? Why do you ask me? Her dossier was unmatched and acclaimed Such an urban legend from our community Much respect and props for her notable name She began her career on the New York stage Put her heart and soul into each role she played Drank from the youth fountain didn’t look her age In these glorious years, her career never decayed “A Woman Called Moses”; don’t forget “Sounder!” “The River Niger,” we won’t ever forget “Roots!” A club for growing black actors, she was the founder Presidential Medal of Freedom, she bore much fruit “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pitman” was fearless Having a guest role in many Tyler Perry movies With her prodigious acting, only she could harness Held her nose when asked to play ratchet or a floozy She scorched the earth for other black actresses Angela Bassets and Viola Davis, to name a few Never bad press or scandal as anyone’s mistress When she passed away, still giving interviews Her biography hit the streets, fresh off the press Traveled to promote her school of Performing Arts Still worked and spoke while impeccably dressed My Lord did she not have a run, never a false start You can’t tell it! So let me tell it; made “Just as I Am!” Had a chance to tell HER story many she out-lived Elegant, royal; she was worth the title of madam Although so petite, Cicely's career was so massive