The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni (7 page)

i'm not lonely

sleeping all alone

you think i'm scared

but i'm a big girl

i don't cry

or anything

i have a great big bed

to roll around

in and lots of space

and i don't dream

bad dreams

like i used

to have that you

were leaving me

anymore

now that you're gone

i don't dream

and no matter

what you think

i'm not lonely

sleeping

all alone

it's so hard to love

people

who will die soon

the sixties have been one

long funeral day

the flag flew at half-mast

so frequently

seeing it up

i wondered what was wrong

it will go back

to half

on inauguration day

(though during the johnson love

in the pole

was cut

the mourning wasn't

official)

the Jews are seeking

sympathy

cause there isn't one Jew

(and few circumcised women)

in the cabinet

old mother no dick plans

to keep it

bare

it's impossible to love

a Jew

united quakers and crackers

for death, inc.

are back in the driver's seat

it hertz

and i pledge allegiance

to the removal of all

pain

it's masochistic

(derived from colored

meaning sick to kiss massa)

to love honkies

riderless horses

backward boots

the eternal flame of the flammable

Black Man

who does not plan to screw

honkies to death

it's so easy to love

Black Men

they must not die anymore

and we must not die

with america

their day of mourning

is our first international

holiday

it's a question of power

which we must wield

if it is not

to be wielded

against

us

i'm a happy
moile

the opposite of which

is an unhappy

womblie

and the only way you'll ever

understand

this poem

is if you sit

on your ear

three times a day

facing south

justa whistling

dixie

while nikki picks

her nose

if you miss nose

picking time

then you must collect

three and one half milograms

of toe jam

and give it to barbara's cat

and if you can't find

barbara's cat

then how you gonna call

yourself

a black man?

But the whole thing is a miracle—See?

We were just standing there

talking—not touching or smoking

Pot

When this cop told

Tyrone

Move along buddy—take your whores

outa here

And this tremendous growl

From out of nowhere

Pounced on him

Nobody to this very day

Can explain

How it happened

And none of the zoos or circuses

Within fifty miles

Had reported

A panther

Missing

one day

you gonna walk in this house

and i'm gonna have on a long African

gown

you'll sit down and say “The Black…”

and i'm gonna take one arm out

then you—not noticing me at all—will say “What about

this brother…”

and i'm going to be slipping it over my head

and you'll rap on about “The revolution…”

while i rest your hand against my stomach

you'll go on—as you always do—saying

“I just can't dig…”

while i'm moving your hand up and down

and i'll be taking your dashiki off

then you'll say “What we really need…”

and i'll be licking your arm

and “The way I see it we ought to…”

and unbuckling your pants

“And what about the situation…”

and taking your shorts off

then you'll notice

your state of undress

and knowing you you'll just say

“Nikki,

isn't this counterrevolutionary…?”

as things be / come

let's destroy

then we can destroy

what we be / come

let's build

what we become

when we dream

I am the token negro

I sit in the colored section with Fanon in hand

(to demonstrate my militancy)

and a very dry martini

(ingredients: yellow grass and a green faggot

over lightly)

while circumcised flies buzz brassy smells over my head

The women (obviously my superiors)

White sharp lines

and light-blue mascara

reaching all the way down beyond the red neck

crossing the middle age spread

form a double V (at home and the office)

spinning spidery daydreams of cloth

once covering and once removed

dripping babies

I asked why

the group wouldn't be in the Black community

(it was Black French—which I should point out

has nothing to do with sex)

And was told quite soundlee

that just because they're colored don't

mean they're not artists too

THEY'RE ARTISTS TOO AND COLOR

AIN'T GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH IT

AND WHY OH WHY WON'T YOU PEOPLE

LET US FORGET YOU'RE COLORED TOO

Token Negroes

I do believe, at least I was told,

and it is very important

for future exchanges

And again I must point out sex is not the issue

that we should simply fuck

tokenism

Dykes of the world are united

Faggots got their thing together

(Everyone is organized)

Black people these are facts

Where's your power

Honkies rule the world

Where's your power Black people

(There are those who say it's found in the root of all evil)

You are money

You seek property

Own yourself

3/5 of a man

100% whore

Chattel property

All of us

The most vital commodity in america

Is Black people

Ask any circumcised honkie

There are relevant points to be considered, Black People

Honkies tell niggers don't burn

“violence begets you nothing my fellow americans”

But they insist on straightened hair

They insist on bleaching creams

It is only natural that we would escalate

It has been pointed out:

“If we can't out fight them, we can't out vote them”

These are relevant points to consider

If 10% honkies can run south africa

then

10% Black people (which has nothing to do with negroes)

can run america

These are facts

Deal with them

It has been pointed out:

“The last bastion of white supremacy

is in the Black man's mind”

(Note—this is not a criticism of brothers)

Everything comes in steps

Negative step one: get the white out of your hair

Negative step two: get the white out of your mind

Negative step three: get the white out of your parties

Negative step four: get the white out of your meetings

BLACK STEP ONE
:

Get the feeling out (this may be painful—endure)

BLACK STEP TWO
:

Outline and implement the program

All honkies and some negroes will have to die

This is unfortunate but necessary

Black law must be implemented

The Black Liberation Front must take responsibility

For Black people

If the choice is between the able and the faithful

The faithful must be chosen

Blackness is its own qualifier

Blackness is its own standard

There are no able negroes

White degrees do not qualify negroes to run

The Black Revolution

The Black Liberation Front must set the standards

These are international rules

Acquaint yourself with the Chinese, The Vietnamese,

The Cubans

And other Black Revolutions

We have tried far too long to ally with whites

Remember the rule of thumb:

WILD ANIMALS CAN BE TRAINED

BUT NEVER TAMED

The honkie is this category

Like any beast he can be trained with varying degrees

of excellence to

1) eat from a table

2) wash his hands

3) drive an automobile or bicycle

4) run a machine

5) And in some rare cases has been known to speak

This is training, Black people,

And while it is amusing

It is still a circus we are watching

Barnum and Bailey are the minds

behind president Johnson

You would not trust your life to a wolf or a tiger

no matter how many tricks they can learn

You would not turn your back on a cobra

Even if it can dance

Do not trust a honkie

They are all of the same family

The Black Liberation Front has free jobs to offer

for those concerned about the unemployed

The sisters need to make flags

(there are no nations without a flag)

The Red Black and Green must wave from all our

buildings as we build our nation

Even the winos have a part—they empty the bottles

which the children can collect

Teen-age girls can fill with flammable liquid

and stuff with a rag

Professor Neal says a tampax will do just fine

Ammunition for gun and mind must be smuggled in

Support your local bookstore

Dashikis hide a multitude of Revolution

Support your local dress shop

As all reports have indicated our young men are primary

On the job training is necessary

Support your local rebellion—

send a young man into the streets

Our churches must bless these efforts in the name

of our Black God

Far too long we have been like Jesus

Crucified

It is time for The Resurrection of Blackness

“A little child shall lead them” for the Bible tells me so

And we shall follow our children into battle

Our choice a decade ago was war or dishonor

(another word for integration)

We chose dishonor

We got war

Mistakes are a fact of life

It is the response to error that counts

Erase our errors with the Black Flame

Purify our neighborhoods with the Black Flame

We are the artists of this decade

Draw a new picture with the Black Flame

Live a new life within the Black Flame

Our choice now is war or death

Our option is survival

Listen to your own Black hearts