“sechita / had learned to make allowances for the distortions/ but the heavy dust of the delta/ left a tinge of grit n darkness/ on every one of her dresses/ on her arms & her shoulders/ sechita/ waz anxious to get back to st. louis/ the dirt there didnt crawl from the earth into yr soul/ at least/ in st. louis/ the grime waz store bought second-hand/ here in natchez/ god seemed to be wipin his feet in her face/”

For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf, Ntozake Shange