In My Solitude
Submitted by Dr. Slick (ne J. Nicole Brooks)

BUT IT’S MY VOICE…
Inn-hale
Exx-hale
Inhale
Exhale.
Selah.
Scottsboro 5
Little rock 9
Jena 6
Selah.
Fannie Lou cried I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired
I wonder if she ever thought of herself as being beautiful—
Hmph. That’s makes me wonder.
Did Soujourner ever look thru the lookingglass?
Did Harriet ever soak her feet and splash her body with rose water/neroli oil/or sip chamomile to ease her pain?
How did Corretta keep such lovely skin under such ugly free radicals?
Inn-hale
Exx-hale.
In my solitude I wonder what it’s like to have H Rap take me out for dinner,
To have Fela serenade me
To have Johnny Pacheco watch me roll my hips
To hear Pauls deep melodic voice say
“Gatdamn girl, you fine…”
With Mme. CJ in my hair
Lips red as a fresh fig
Hips aching to make ‘em all think we’re doing wrong.
What it must be to jump jive and wail all night on
Lenox
Amersterdam
Across 110th street
Maybe we could grind the night away at every Sepia Joint there is.
Go have yard bird from Sylvia’s
And rest on Sugar Hill.
Harlem, the world’s most exciting neighborhood.
We all reside there.



Learn more about J. Nicole here in an interview on her new play at Chicago's Looking Glass Theater!