Blues for X

By George Elliott Clarke

Pretty boy, towel your tears,

And robe yourself in black.

Pretty boy, dry your tears,

You know I’m comin’ back.

I’m your lavish lover

And I’m slavish in the sack.

Call me Sweet Potato,

Sweet Pea, or Sweety Pie,

There’s sugar on my lips

And honey in my thighs.

Jos’phine Baker bakes beans,

But I stew pigtails in rye.

My bones are guitar strings

And blues the chords you strum.

My bones are slender flutes

And blues the bars you hum.

You wanna stay my man,

Serve me whisky when I come.

Copyright Credit: “Blues for X” from Whylah Falls. Copyright (c) 2001 George Elliot Clarke. Used by permission of Polestar Book Publishers. Polestar is an imprint of Raincoast Books.

Source: Whylah Falls (Rain Coast Books, 1990)