dark phrases of womanhood
of never havin been a girl
half-notes scattered
without rhythm
no tune
distraught laughter fallin
over a black girl’s shoulder
it’s funny
it’s hysterical
the melody-less-ness of her dance
don’t tell nobody
don’t tell a soul
she’s dancin on beer cans & shingles

this must be the spook house
another song with no singers
lyrics
no voices
& interrupted solos
unseen performances

are we ghouls?
children of horror?
the joke?

don’t tell nobody
don’t tell a soul
are we animals?
have we gone crazy?

i can’t hear anythin
but maddening screams
& the soft strains of death
& you promised me
you promised me…
somebody
anybody
sing a black girl’s song
bring her out
to know herself
to know you
but sing her rhythms
carin
struggle
hard times
sing her song of life
she’s been dead so long
closed in silence so long
she doesn’t know the sound
of her own voice
her infinite beauty
she’s half-notes scattered
without rhythm
no tune
sing her sighs
sing the song of her possibilities
sing a righteous gospel
let her be born
let her be born
& handled warmly.

& this is for colored girls who have considered suicide
but moved to the ends of their own rainbows.

By Ntozake Shange