For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf
Ratings16
Average rating4.2
wow, just wow
quotes I kept:
“The freedom to move in space, to demand of my own sweat a perfection that could continually be approached, though never known, waz poem to me, my body & mind ellipsing, probably for the first
time in my life.” p. xi
“without any assistance or guidance from you
i have loved you assiduously for 8 months 2 wks & a day
i have been stood up four times
i've left 7 packages on yr doorstep
forty poems 2 plants & 3 handmade notecards i left
town so i cd send to you have been no help to me
on my job
you call at 3:00 in the mornin on weekdays
so i cd drive 27½ miles cross the bay before i go to work
charmin charmin
but you are of no assistance
i want you to know
this waz an experiment
to see how selfish i cd be
if i wd really carry on to snare a possible lover
if i waz capable of debasin my self for the love of another
if i cd stand not being wanted
when i wanted to be wanted
& i cannot
so with no further assistance & no guidance from you
i am endin this affair” [13/14]
“we cd even have em over for dinner
get raped in our own houses
by invitation
a friend” [21]
“& she wanted to be unforgettable
she wanted to be a memory
a wound to every man
arragant enough to want her” [32]
“to experience her body & spirit
tearin/ so easily blendin with theirs/
& they were so happy
& lay on her lime sheets full & wet
from her tongue she kissed
them reverently even ankles
edges of beards . . .” [33]
“then the rose
she left by his pillow
she found on her friends desk
& there waz nothing to say
she said
i wanna tell you
he's been after me
all the time
says he's free & can explain
what's happenin wit you
is nothin to me
& i dont wanna hurt you
but you know i need someone now
& you know
how wonderful he is” [41]
“you just walked back to where you hurt/ & i didnt
have nothin/ so i went to where somebody had somethin for me/
but he waznt you” [43]
“i used to joke abt when i waz messin round/ but a real dead
lovin is here for you now/ cuz i dont know anymore/ how
to avoid my own face wet wit my tears/ cuz i had convinced
myself colored girls had no right to sorrow/ & i lived
& loved that way & kept sorrow on the curb/ allegedly
for you/ but i know i did it for myself/
i cdnt stand it
i cdnt stand bein sorry & colored at the same time
it's so redundant in the modern world” [43]
“into oblivion isnt far enuf
to get outta this/ i am ready to die like a lily in the
desert/ & i cdnt let you in on it cuz i didnt know” [44]
“will you take it from me this one time/
please this is for you/ arsenio's tres cleared the way
& makes me pure again/ please please/ this is for you
i want you to love me/ let me love you/ i dont wanna
dance wit ghosts/ snuggle lovers i made up in my drunkenness/
lemme love you just like i am” [44]
holdin onto ourselves/ lets think our
way outta feelin/ lets abstract ourselves some families
& maybe maybe tonite/ i'll find a way to make myself
come witout you/ no fingers or other objects just thot
which isnt spiritual evolution cuz its empty & godliness
is plenty is ripe & fertile/ thinkin wont do me a bit of
good tonite/ i need to be loved/ & havent the audacity
to say
where are you/ & dont know who to say it to [45]
“i survive on intimacy & tomorrow/ that's all i've got” [45]
“my spirit is too ancient to understand the separation of
soul & gender/ my love is too delicate to have thrown
back on my face” [45]
“i want my own things/ how i lived them/
& give me my memories/ how i waz when i waz there/
you cant have them or do nothin wit them/” [50]
“stealin my shit from me/ dont make it yrs/ makes it stolen/” [50]
“one thing i dont need
is any more apologies
i got sorry greetin me at my front door
you can keep yrs
i dont know what to do wit em
they dont open doors
or bring the sun back
they dont make me happy
or get a mornin paper
didnt nobody usin my tears to wash cars
cuz a sorry” [52]
“i am simply tired
of collectin
i didnt know
i was so important to you'
i'm gonna haveta throw some away
i cant get to the clothes in my closet
for alla the sorries” [53]
“i'm gonna do exactly what i want to
& i wont be sorry for none of it
letta sorry soothe yr soul/ i'm gonna soothe mine” [53]
“i loved you on purpose
i was open on purpose
i still crave vulnerability & close talk
& i'm not even sorry bout you bein sorry
you can carry all the guilt & grime ya wanna
just dont give it to me
i cant use another sorry
next time
you should admit
you're mean/ low-down/ triflin/ & no count straight out
steada bein sorry alla the time
enjoy bein yrself” [54]
“i know bout/ layin on bodies/ layin outta man
bringin him alla my fleshy self & some of my pleasure
bein taken full eager wet like i get sometimes
i waz missin somethin” [62]
A series of poems connected through the use of stage directions to form a “choreopoem”, a term coined by the author. Several ladies tell different stories about growing up as a black woman in America. Many of the experiences are pulled from the author's life. Absolutely heartbreaking and beautiful, this is a masterpiece of poetry as storytelling. If you haven't read this yet, you need to.
Powerful and sad. Cried, got goosebumps. I think I most liked the more romantic, “oh, relationships!” poems, since those seemed a little more hopeful and less tragic. Or maybe it's just because the final poem, with Beau and Crystal, was so tragic. Oh man.
Dark play, written as poem, relating
lives of black women. Captivating.
A tiny bit preachy at times.