In the balcony at the Apollo, big Black mama in the seat beside me, rapt as I was, at home as I was not, but no one minded a skinny white teenager there for the music I loved most.
Frankie Lymon
Why do fools fall in love, No, no no, no, no, I', not a juvenile delinquent, Goody goody for him, pause, and the crowd lifted him with raucous cheers, Goody goody for me, long dramatic pause and from next to me, on the balcony,
"Do it, Frankie!" and he stopped, looked up at her, soft brown eyes, cheeks still smooth, "I'll do my best, baby." Not long after
dead of an overdose, and for years after, pushers in Harlem would say, "This is the real shit, man, the stuff that killed the Lymon kid."
In the balcony at the Apollo, big Black mama in the seat beside me, both there to hear Frankie Lymon
Why do fools fall in love, then Goody goody for him, pause, and the crowd lifted him with raucous cheers, Goody goody for me, long dramatic pause and from that balcony,
"Do it, Frankie!" and he stopped, looked up at her, soft brown eyes, cheeks still smooth, "I'll do my best, baby." Not long after
dead of an overdose in his grandmother’s bathroom, and for years pushers in Harlem would sell it, "This is the real shit, man, the stuff that killed the Lymon kid."
we loved so deeply late in summer, with bliss and tenderness we parted for the fall no contact for us at all we chanced to meet again one day but, his memory of me was gone I longed for him I kissed him deep with passion it did not strike a vein i felt despair and horror because i thought I’d found my love but he was lost to life and things and did not remember me...
》They Were Burned Up《 See the skies set alight. View the comets, shine so bright. Streak across the empty space. Burn up, and gone without a trace. Never know that they were here, Unless quite closely we peer. The same goes, for us and those. People so great, and yet not known. Instead we hate, and children are shown In our schools, we were made as fools. If you were a muser, You were made as a looser. If you were smart, you were despised apart. If you held a good grade, To help them cheat you were made. And some souls shined so bright. But they where mocked and harassed And even though some tried to fight, and succeed. Many ended their own light, and from earth's sight, fleed.
This poem is about the joy of being unique but it canamy times be turned against us to cause suffering.
THE REAL SHIT
ReplyDeleteIn the balcony
at the Apollo,
big Black mama
in the seat
beside me,
rapt as I was,
at home as I
was not,
but no one minded
a skinny white
teenager there
for the music I loved most.
Frankie Lymon
Why do fools
fall
in love, No, no
no, no, no, I',
not a juvenile
delinquent,
Goody
goody for him,
pause, and the crowd
lifted him with
raucous cheers, Goody
goody for me, long
dramatic pause
and from next to me,
on the balcony,
"Do it, Frankie!"
and he stopped,
looked up at her,
soft brown eyes,
cheeks still smooth,
"I'll
do my best, baby."
Not long after
dead of an overdose,
and for years after,
pushers in Harlem would say,
"This is the real shit, man,
the stuff that killed the Lymon kid."
Typo - should be
ReplyDeleteno, no, no, I'm
And revised:
ReplyDeleteTHE REAL SHIT
In the balcony
at the Apollo,
big Black mama
in the seat
beside me,
both there to hear
Frankie Lymon
Why do fools
fall
in love, then
Goody
goody for him,
pause, and the crowd
lifted him with
raucous cheers, Goody
goody for me, long
dramatic pause
and from that balcony,
"Do it, Frankie!"
and he stopped,
looked up at her,
soft brown eyes,
cheeks still smooth,
"I'll
do my best, baby."
Not long after
dead of an overdose
in his grandmother’s bathroom,
and for years
pushers in Harlem would sell it,
"This is the real shit, man,
the stuff that killed the Lymon kid."
Powerful!Is it true?
DeleteEvery word of it. Except the time lapse between me seeing Frankie at the Apollo and his death was a little longer, probably 6 or 7 years.
DeletePowerful and the last stanza knocks you off your feet. Is "big black mama" from one of his songs? If not, it's kind of a stereotype.
DeleteHow would you describe her in three words?
DeleteActually I thought I had revised that line to just “big mama.” I meant to. Consider it changed.
DeleteCurtain of Rain
ReplyDeleteTogether we watch the rain
dripping a thin curtain
from roof's edge, hand in hand
enjoying the silvery drops.
How long do we have
to watch the rain like this,
to hold hands, to be us?
My heart is squeezed with it.
Wondering/not wondering
I push away the despair
that would overwhelm
knowing it's not real
but a shadow of someday.
I let go of the not yet
and embrace the bliss
of now, of here, of us.
Beautiful imagery. And yes, gives the feeling of both bliss and despair.
Deletewe loved so deeply
ReplyDeletelate in summer, with
bliss and tenderness
we parted for the fall
no contact for us at all
we chanced
to meet again one day
but, his memory of me was gone
I longed for him
I kissed him
deep with passion
it did not strike a vein
i felt despair and horror
because i thought
I’d found my love
but he was lost
to life and things
and did not remember
me...
》They Were Burned Up《
ReplyDeleteSee the skies set alight.
View the comets, shine so bright.
Streak across the empty space.
Burn up, and gone without a trace.
Never know that they were here,
Unless quite closely we peer.
The same goes,
for us and those.
People so great, and yet not known.
Instead we hate, and children are shown
In our schools,
we were made as fools.
If you were a muser,
You were made as a looser.
If you were smart,
you were despised apart.
If you held a good grade,
To help them cheat you were made.
And some souls shined so bright.
But they where mocked and harassed
And even though some tried to fight, and succeed.
Many ended their own light, and from earth's sight, fleed.
This poem is about the joy of being unique but it canamy times be turned against us to cause suffering.
***poem is about the joy of being unique but how it can be turned against us to cause suffering
Delete