Mr. Africa Poetry Lounge!
ON SEEING THE BLACK MALE AS #1 SEX OBJECT IN AMERICA
There / are / Black men in the south
Of America who / are soooooooo pretty
That their beauty
Sucks in fat gulps the breath from your mouth.
In Nashville, Memphis, Jackson, Lil Rock,
In spots that / are / just dots
On the hi / way to the south and sun-
Tall, "male" men-
Wearing flashing red caps, and hats
With wide brims in bold green, grin.
Black men in the south
Of America / are / soooooooo pretty-
In bright jeans, in tight jeans, bulging;
Shining their cars,
Hanging in the bars,
Leaning on the corners
Where the snow / janes pass
Stroking the Black male asses
From behind dark glasses,-
Where the crow / janes pass-and wonder too
And stroke too and gulp too and know too-
That it / is / true:
Black men in the south
Of America / are / soooooooo pretty
That men, and women, hide
Under sheets and masks and ride
And plot under the Alabama moon
How to "cut the nut."
Written by Etheridge Knight (1931-1991)
<----> SEND THIS POEM TO A FRIEND! <---->