Black Note

Location

30303
United States
33° 45' 20.5596" N, 84° 23' 18.1392" W

the right song can have it’s way with you like a lover can have with your heart
make you happy, sad, move you to do things you never thought you’d do
think things your parents never taught you
swing tunes cause
a fever that jump-starts your heart and puts coals under your toes
jazz songs
that make cry and wanna choke your momma then bawl and hug your enemy
soul music that starts
moving you from your kitchen to your bedroom, and back again
songs by black artists that told white kids they were more like them than their daddies told them
saying, “like you, I only want to dance, party and hold my girl real tight”
sharing secrets about how they snuck out at night
and how his leaving hurt worse than any pain you’d ever felt before and have ever since
rhythms that spoke to your soul
and words that let you know you weren’t alone
presenting the new black man and woman-the talented entertainer
serenading and gyrating across the atlantic
telling it how it really is for a black man in a white man’s world
offering a window
into a culture so similar to their own
how hall and fun house mirrors take the same image
but boast different perspectives
first in restaurants
then in clubs
next on stages
to moonwalking on TV screens
fans of every hue
in every tongue
screaming
“I love you! You are my idol!”
I’d rather go blind than see things turn back
Listening to music in a chair I didn’t know was a chair while I wasn’t sitting there
Thinking about running down the street shouting out loud “I’m black and I’m proud!”
Yes better is a must
And much has been done
Every ear perks up at the sound of a hot beat
And my skin is no longer my leprosy
Colored songs formed a weapon that struck ignorance at its core
And left it rocking
to the rhythm of it’s song

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