Poem For A Lady Whose Voice I Like

By Nikki Giovanni b. 1943 Nikki Giovanni

so he said: you ain’t got no talent

if you didn’t have a face

you wouldn’t be nobody

and she said: god created heaven and earth

and all that’s Black within them

so he said: you ain’t really no hot shit

they tell me plenty sisters

take care better business than you

and she said: on the third day he made chitterlings

and all good things to eat

and said: “that’s good”

so he said: if the white folks hadn’t been under

yo skirt and been giving you the big play

you’d a had to come on uptown like everybody else

and she replied: then he took a big Black greasy rib

from adam and said we will call this woeman and her

name will be sapphire and she will divide into four parts

that simone may sing a song

and he said: you pretty full of yourself ain’t chu

so she replied: show me someone not full of herself

and i’ll show you a hungry person

Source: The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni (2003)

Biography

Nikki Giovanni is one of the best-known African-American poets who reached prominence during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Her unique and insightful poetry testifies to her own evolving awareness and experiences: from child to young woman, from naive college freshman to seasoned civil rights activist, from daughter to mother. Frequently anthologized, Giovanni’s poetry expresses strong racial pride and respect for family. Her . . .

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