Somebody almost walked off with all of my stuff.Over the weekend, I curled up with a couple of Tyler Perry movies. I'm probably the only white girl in the world who gets a kick out of Tyler Perry movies but the point is that I know a Madea and everything he has done up to this point has been enjoyable to me.
And didn't care enough to send a note home saying
I was late for my solo conversation
Or two sizes too small for my own tacky skirts.
What can anybody do with something of no value on an open market?
Did you get a dime for my things?
Hey man!
Where are you going with all of my stuff?
This is a woman's trip and I need my stuff to "ooh" and "ahh" about
Honest to God, somebody almost ran off with all of my stuff!
And I didn't bring anything but the kick and sway of it
The perfect ass for my man
And none of it is there.
This is mine. Juanita's own things.
That's my name. Now give me my stuff!
I see you hiding my laugh
And how I sit with my legs open sometimes to give my crotch some sunlight
This is some delicate leg and whimsical hips
I gotta have to give to my choice
So you can't have me unless I give me away
And I was doing all that until you ran off on a good thing
And who is this you left me with?
Some simple bitch with a bad attitude.
I want my things!
I want my arms with the hot iron scar
I want my leg with flea bites
Yeah, I want my things!
I want my calloused feet and my quick language back in my mouth
I want my own things
How I loved them
Somebody almost ran off with all of my stuff
And I was standing there looking at myself the whole time
It wasn't a spirit that ran off with all of my stuff
It was a man, who's ego walked 'round like Rodan's shadow
It was a man faster than my innocence
It was a lover I made too much room for
Almost ran off with all of my stuff
And the one running with it
Don't know he got it
I'm shouting "This is mine!"
And he don't even know he got it
My stuff is the monogamous, ripped-off treasure of the year
Did you know
Somebody almost got away with me?
Me, in a plastic bag under their arms.
Me, Juanita Sims
Somebody almost walked off with all of my stuff
That said, I came across a movie called "For Colored Girls" which is based on the 1975 choreopoem stage-play "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow is Enuf" by Ntozake Shange. At first, the movie was dull and uninspiring but I forced myself to stick with it because Tyler Perry movies have a unique way of starting out slow and annoying to crescendo with some kind of moral and then let you relax in the moral.
This movie was no different. And, for me, it all kicked off with this poem right here. The movie was slow starting and there was a lot going on, making it hard to focus on who was doing what, and when did this dialogue become a poem. I struggled to find anything I could relate to in this movie, which is rare for me, as I usually relate to Tyler Perry movies (or at least have sympathy for the characters) pretty early on. But Loretta Divine, who played Juanita Sims - the lady in Green - delivered the above poem with such ferocity that I had to watch it about 50 times before I decided to transcribe it so I could keep it forever. This poem kicked me in the teeth.
My mom says she's never been that in love, but I know I have. And this weekend was a weekend of healing and sickness, of redemption and starting to move forward. This weekend, I had to make note of the fact that someone almost walked off with all of my stuff.
I was profoundly moved by the lightheartedness and playfulness of this poem, despite it's deep dark subject matter. A lover who takes so much of you that when he leaves, you're not sure who you are anymore. That has been something I have been struggling with myself these last few months. I just feel like this poem is very moving and I feel like a lot of girls out there can relate to the feeling of watching yourself being carried off in a plastic bag under some man's arm.
