Lizzy
Lizzy stood tall
She had to --
Who else is going to stand tall for you?
Poor girl, Mama gone.
Papa gone, too.
Lizzy’s thick hair smelled of Royal Crown.
Her legs were shiny from a good helping of Crisco.
Her clothes showed some wear,
But they were clean, starched, and pressed.
Her hands, rough like her Mama’s
From scrubbing and washing and ironing.
Lizzy can cook, too.
Food fit for a king.
She baked a pie
For Dr. King and Mr. Abernathy
Once.
When they were over at Miss Verdell’s house
Talking about marching for civil rights.
Miss Verdell said he ate two pieces.
Lizzy turned eighteen.
They say she should’ve been married by now.
But the town boy she was seeing didn’t like dark skin.
“For the children’s sake.”
Sad.
His skin was dark, too.
Lizzy took the Greyhound bus to Brooklyn.
She packed fried chicken and pound cake
For the long ride.
A new big city...
More to see
More to love.
More to see who might love her, too.
Lizzy got a job scrubbing, washing, and ironing
In Apartment 10 A
She fit in because she kept her talk to a minimum
Mama had said,
“Use your two eyes and two ears more than your mouth,
And listen to what’s being said around you.
That’s how you learn and get paid.”
The rich Missy in Apartment 10 A
Was doing some things with the rich mister
Down in Apartment 10 C
Lizzy looked, listened, and learned.
She got paid because she kept her talk to a minimum.
Lizzy got paid enough to move up to a new place,
Apartment 10 B.
New friends came around,
Men friends too.
Lizzie’s thick hair was pressed and curled
Her clothes were new.
Legs shiny with new silk stockings.
Lizzy found out the city boys like dark skin.
Lizzy liked her dark skin, too.
-Toretha Wright from “Black Misery and other Slave Songs”
