Lord, we were black and poor, so you know what they called us. ...Always have some ‘mad money’ on you in case a man leaves you somewhere. ...In case a man pushes you out his car. ...At an intersection. ...In the middle of a suburb. ...A suburb with no street signs and no cab stands. ...A suburb where all the houses are dark with sameness. ...Always wear clean underwear. ...If you need help, find a church. ...If there’s a bus, it just might be your friends who throw you under it.
[1]
Always have some ‘mad money’ on you in case a man leaves you somewhere. ...In case a man pushes you out his car. ...A suburb where all the houses are dark with sameness. ...In case there is a tornado. ...My name is Bess and I ain’t in that mess. ...In case the bus crashes. ...If you need help, find a church. ...Find a Baptist church. Black folks’ll be there. ...Keep one eye open on your so-called friends. ...My own mama worked in white folks’ houses all her life. ...Into the Lord I put my amens. ...If there’s a bus, it just might be your friends who throw you under it.
[2]
When I was your age, the boys we liked went to Vietnam and died there. ...Lord, we were black and poor, so you know what they called us. ...In case a man pushes you out his car. ...In the middle of a suburb. ...A suburb with no street signs and no cab stands. ...I’m just tellin you what my mama told me to keep us safe. ...In case the bus crashes. ...If you need help, find a church. ...Keep one eye open on your so-called friends.
[3]
All you gotta do in this life is stay black and die. ...Lord, we were black and poor, so you know what they called us. ...Always have some ‘mad money’ on you in case a man leaves you somewhere. ...In case a man pushes you out his car. ...In the middle of a suburb. ...A suburb you have never been to before. ...I wish I didn’t have to say it but I do: keep a top eye open. ...In case there is a tornado. ...In case the bus crashes. ...Find a Baptist church. Black folks’ll be there. ...Into the Lord I put my amens. ...If there’s a bus, it just might be your friends who throw you under it.
[5]
Always have some ‘mad money’ on you in case a man leaves you somewhere. ...In case a man pushes you out his car. ...At an intersection. ...A suburb you have never been to before. ...Always wear clean underwear. ...In case there is a tornado. ...I’m just tellin you what my mama told me to keep us safe. ...You’ll get called a n-gger, probably by a friend. Just wait. ...My name is Bess and I ain’t in that mess. ...In case the bus crashes.
[6]
All you gotta do in this life is stay black. ...When I was your age, the boys we liked went to Vietnam and died there. ...At an intersection. ...In the middle of a suburb. ...A suburb with no street signs and no cab stands. ...Always wear clean underwear. ...In case there is a tornado. ...You’ll get called a n-gger, probably by a friend. Just wait. ...In case the bus crashes. ...Find a Baptist church. Black folks’ll be there. ...Into the Lord I put my amens. ...Of course I told your brother not to look too long at white women.
[7]
When I was your age, the boys we liked went to Vietnam and died there. ...Lord, we were black and poor, so you know what they called us. ...At an intersection. ...A suburb you have never been to before. ...Always wear clean underwear. ...You’ll get called a n-gger, probably by a friend. Just wait. ...In case the bus crashes. ...If you need help, find a church. ...My own mama worked in white folks’ houses all her life. ...Into the Lord I put my amens. ...Of course I told your brother not to look too long at white women.
[8]
Always have some ‘mad money’ on you in case a man leaves you somewhere. ...At an intersection. ...A suburb you have never been to before. ...I wish I didn’t have to say it but I do: keep a top eye open. ...In case there is a tornado. ...I’m just tellin you what my mama told me to keep us safe. ...If you need help, find a church. ...Find a Baptist church. Black folks’ll be there. ...Keep that top eye open on your so- called friends. ...My own mama worked in white folks’ houses all her life. ...Of course I told your brother not to look too long at white women.
[9]
All you gotta do in this country is stay black and die. ...Lord, we were black and poor, so you know what they called us. ...Been that way since Hector was a puppy. ...At an intersection. ...I wish I didn’t have to say it but I do: keep a top eye open. ...Always wear clean underwear. ...In case there is a tornado. ...I’m just tellin you what my mama told me to keep us safe. ...You’ll get called a n-gger, probably by a friend. Just wait. ...In case the bus crashes. ...If you need help, find a church. ...Keep one eye open on your so-called friends.
When my mother read this poem she said "so you were listening to me after all!" This poem represents the kinds of wisdom Black mothers communicate to their Black children, wisdom designed to keep them safe in a racist world. I know I didn't act like it, but yeah Ma, I was listening.
"The poems in the first four notebooks are almost always clean copies. In the fifth, many poems undergo radical revision, allowing us to trace Thomas’s creative processes at first hand....Among the deleted passages were many of great beauty and originality, some of which Thomas reworked elsewhere. There were also three stanzas, in two of the poems, which had never been seen before."
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"Studying my declensions, conjugating those verbs, the endless rote memorization of vocabulary, all felt meaningful in relation to this wild, instinctive possibility—that thinking was the body’s work, that apprehension in all its senses (grasping, fearing, knowing) was the thinking poetry could offer, a thought that is a sensation, as natural and instinctive as the hawk’s dive is to hawk or the mouse’s hiding is to the mouse, all eyes bright with purpose."
