who's your momma


what hip-hop got
it got from jazz
Fountain of frictionless
New Orleans spilling
into gumbo-rich air
and stale beer

all that has to be said
pretending it’s not interested
in talking—heartbeat heat
drop beat feet—who’s
that momma slapping
you up side your head

Billie and Ella
Sarah and Dinah
and too soon dead
Bessie

Davis and Dizzy
Louis and Hubbard
and Brown—all putting
it down so the new peeps
can pick it up and do
what they do—do what
they do

old school
new school
bruises—black
and blue and blue
and blue