I 'member we strutted down the street

ass to cheek — safety in numbers

chanting loud lyrics to a tune

we'd later learn was Ellington's “Night Train~”

-“Yo mama she don't even care

she wears yo daddy's underwea

Yo mama unh, unh, unh-”
Racing to the next insult

“hate to talk about yo' mama

she's a good ole soul

she got a humpback booty

and a rubber asshole.”
Perverting Pepsodent commercials:

“You'll wonder where the yellow went

when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent

'Cause when your teeth are turnin' black

You'll wish you had that yellow back.”
I 'member double dutch lyrics tastier, racier

escalatin' footwork, patchwork of rhythm and

sources, rhymes, syncopation, nation building

sisterhood, sibilance and early romance dancing
-A million versions of Miss Mary Mack and Jimmy

Crack Corn, later blues and news that traveled from

distant drums through footwork thrums, braids and

bellowing