smells i see
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Picture
Restoration, a collection of poetry and prose, (2005)
words for sale
told me

words
come through you

they’re
a gift

you’re
a wordsmith
a poet
a griot

what did they cost you
fifteen minutes on a pc
a pad of legal paper
a missed vacation
a trip to fantasyland

what did they cost you
as you caught them floating by
as you pulled them from
thick misty air
as you claimed their capture
and signed your name
to a bottom line
you allege
was sent through you
from someone
somewhere else

did they move you
or
did you move them

were they honest
or
a fascination
with a rhyme dictionary

were they useful
to the plot
or
taking up space
in wasted borders

did they matter in the lives
of the innocent
did they change the course
of events

did they tell you
she wouldn’t have
another baby
out of wedlock

did they stop aids from traveling
to the thirteen year old baby girl
on the bus
crying her heart
into her hands

did they matter
to the thirteen year old baby boy
who got aids
and won’t know aids
got him
till he’s nearly dead

the baby boy
who’s inoculating
the “fast” girls in the
subdivision
with his love

girls go to doctors
girls have periods
boys have question marks

told me

poems
come through you

told me

you’re a griot
teller of tales
keeper of flames
torchbearer of truth

poems
come through you

through
murky visions
crystal dreams
polluted acts
drummers’ beats

mystical you say

told me

you’re sent
to share

yet
words for sale
while thirteen year old babies
don’t have ten dollars
to buy their freedom

no mama to tell them
no daddy to love them

only

hope of griot
sharing message
griot’s supposed to share

ten dollars for the words

tell baby
where to find love
hold baby
with the words
caress baby
with the words

now

you tell baby
why they got aids?

all they needed
was the message
that came through you

didn’t have ten dollars

aids passed through baby girl
became her message
shared with her baby

that’s right
she got pregnant too

didn’t have ten dollars

aids didn’t charge admission

        tv ads stopped running
        when gay white men got the word
        when gay white men spent ten dollars
        when gay white men got it under control

        tv ads disappeared
        below radar, submarine depth
        wasn’t no conspiracy

        was what it was
        when gay white men got it under control

        wasn’t no racial agenda
        wasn’t no liberal attack
        wasn’t no revolution

        was what it was
        when gay white men got it under control

        wasn’t no declaration on apartheid
        wasn’t no mass genocidal scheme
        wasn’t no attack on Africa

        was what it was
        when gay white men got it under control

literature circulated to the literati
beneath horizons
under movements
away from the streets

where thirteen year old
black children don’t go
where thirteen year old
black children don’t hear
where thirteen year old
black children don’t party
where thirteen year old
black children become hosts

where were you griot

with those words
those magic words
sent through you

words
meant for their target
words to save
thirteen year old babies

did they find their way
to radio waves
tv waves
microwaves
wi-fi waves

did they find their way
to thirteen year old baby girls
to thirteen year old baby boys
in search of love
in search of being held
in search of being saved

did they find their way
to their target

where were you griot

trying to sell those words
to a publisher
trying to sell those words
to the fortunate
trying to sell those words
to the few

trying to sell those words
that only charged you
with distribution rights

where were you griot

with those words
born in freedom
intended to be free

at a poetry fest
in search of recognition
in search of press
in search of accolades
in search of ten dollars

baby girl got aids
baby girl’s baby got aids
baby boy died from aids

ten dollars griot
or
was it twelve


Copyright © 2004 by F. Geoffrey Johnson   All rights reserved
First published in Restoration, a collection of poetry and prose, 2005

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  • Home
  • Bio / CV
    • F. Geoffrey Johnson's Artist CV
    • F. Geoffrey Johnson's CV Addendum
    • Poetry Bio
    • Fine Art Bio
    • Artist Statement
  • Art Gallery
    • Confluence Exhibition New Works (2022) >
      • identity theft: erasure
      • identity theft: i.d. bracelets-no i.d.
      • mend
      • writing about trees is difficult
      • gone fishin'
      • identity theft: rice bearers (2022)
      • blanket statement
    • series: identity theft (2017-2022) >
      • identity theft: erasure (2018)
      • identity theft: i.d. bracelets-no i.d.
      • identity theft: washington
      • identity theft: jefferson
      • identity theft: johnson
      • identity theft: scars
      • identity theft: rice bearers (2021)
      • identity theft: unlocked
    • series: environment: capped >
      • seabird nest
      • wild bird food: special mix
      • disappearing B's
      • bottlenose dolphin
    • series: confined (2017-2022) >
      • confined: NOW
      • confined: requiem for katrina
      • confined: c miners
      • confined: history re-mixed
      • confined: tears
    • Otis College Residency: 2018 >
      • identity theft: erasure
      • black +
      • seabird nest
      • orange is new black
      • taglines
    • Repurposed Objects: 2013-2019 >
      • america take a knee 4 me
      • stick a fork in it, it's done!
      • chain master
      • planting seeds
      • crippling crutches
      • Lotus: Out of Focus
      • Furious Flowers: Birmingham '63
    • Re-purposed Objects: 2010-2012 >
      • Sleepless in Rwanda
      • Screwed
      • Nigeria: Soiled, Soaked & Silent
      • currents (diptych)
      • Tobacco Road
      • Sole Soldier
      • Domino Effect / Foreign Policy
      • Mapping: Between the Lines-Redlining-Bluelining
    • Visual Poetry >
      • windows
      • Furious Flowers: Birmingham '63
      • stick a fork in it, it's done!
      • confined: history re-mixed: an uncivil guide
      • crippling crutches
      • gaza math
      • Sleepless in Rwanda
    • Gallery: Abstract Paintings >
      • Elements
      • Giants of Jazz
      • Green Mountain
      • Liberty
      • Shadows
    • Gallery: Representational Paintings 2008-2010 >
      • Furious Flowers
      • Freedom's Call
      • The Gathering
      • Marooned
      • Unspoken
    • Gallery: Representational Paintings 2006-2007 >
      • A Cry for Peace
      • Contemplation
      • Chains
      • Crossroads
      • Spirit Dancer
      • Hope
      • Tanzanian Waterfall
      • Quiet Storm
    • Furniture >
      • Redwood Clocks >
        • "Aladdin Lamp" Redwood Burl Clock
        • "Buffalo" Redwood Burl Clock
        • "Firebird" Redwood Burl Clock
        • "Fire" Pendulum Clock
        • "Pterodactyl" Pendulum Clock
      • Redwood Tables
  • Poetry Gallery
    • eight years
    • a note to hip hop
    • gaza math
    • word
    • Hate the Game
    • Outside the Box
    • Art of War
    • Changing Times
    • Missing Pictures
    • Extinction
    • i know Haiti
    • who am i
    • words for sale
    • A Conversation in Poem
  • Residencies
    • Otis College of Art and Design L. A. Summer Residency 2018 (video) >
      • identity theft: erasure
      • black +
      • seabird nest
      • orange is new black
      • taglines
      • @ Work L. A. Summer Residency 2018
    • Caversham >
      • About Residency
      • Residency Video (2009)
      • A Conversation in Poem
  • Books
  • Fine Art Reproductions
    • History Re-Mixed
    • Hate the Game
  • Original Art Purchase
  • News / Events
    • Current/Future/Past Events
  • Photo Gallery
  • MY LIBRARY: Art Reviews, Books, Catalogues, Pamphlets, Ephemera
    • Elevate: Art Above Underground
    • The Dream Continues...
    • A Long Time Comin'...
    • 9.5 Theses on Art & Class
  • Contact
  • Browser Instructions