At 6 she knew the street & its rhythms

One of those precocious little sistahs who

Decorate the front steps of roach-infested buildings

Braided hair glistening

With an over-generous application of oil-sheen

A green-apple-jolly-rancher-stix

In her mouth at all times

Its' plastic wrapper folded backwards

Same way she did the top part of her denim Osh-Kosh overalls

City going hum-hum in her ears

Like an orchestra tunin' up

Somebody's granny hangin' outa 3rd story window

Yelling for dumbass Tyree

To get his tail back inside

"NOW!"

And here come Inez

That too-tall-extra-mean-Dominican from 2 blocks ova

Hair slicked back so tight she looks Japanese

Face all greased up shiny wid Vaseline

Just in case she haveta fight somebody

Starting every conversation with

"For Your Informationnnnn....."

& an intimidating eye roll

For good measure

Only way to calm her ass down is to soothe her with

The rhythm of clothesline on pavement

Sooth her with

The rhythm of the rope, the rhythm of the rope

The rhythm of the rope as it whips the walk

Only don't let her turn

'Cause she turn double-handed

And the brown girls in the ring sing:

Chicken Legs, Chicken Breasts

Brooklyn Girls Are the Best

Say Am I Right or Wrong?

Am I Right or Wrong

Then Sound off

Sound off

Break it on down, say

At 13 she discovered the wonders of Posner Pressed Powder

In Warm Mahogany

To "accentuate" her Yoruba facial structure

And extra tight Sergio Valente's

To "accentuate" her Hottentot heiny

The building super noticed

And took her to the basement

To show her something “special”....

He had a key to apartment 3J

And used it when her mother worked a double at King's County

At 15 she won her first two-hundred fifty

in a phatbootiepoppin'coochiestickoutyourchestandwetyourtshirtyoumindlesshoochie Contest

And so began her promising career

She was the toast of Atlanta

A Freaknic peach

For 3 years running

Got her big break at 22

When her buttocks graced the cover

Of a 2 Live Crew album

Don't look for her name in the credits

Asses don't have names

Titties don't get "special thanks"

All over at 28

Too late

Too late to regret

She slides a stockinged foot

Into a thigh high black leather boot

That will walk her down a new career path

A starring role in HOT BLACK PEARL

This pretty little girl

Reaches for her Massengil towlettes

And when she's feeling powder fresh

She glides the Midnight Berry

Across ample lips

Pouting seductively at her used up reflection

Grabs keys, condom & coat

And

Heads out the door of another roach-infested building

Carrying her pain along with her

Like an old

Coach

Bag.