billie holiday’s
hospital room was raided
in 1959 for narcotics possession
she was arrested in her bed
where policemen
stood guard over her
for a month
before her liver told her heart
to go on and die
sexually assaulted at age 11 by a neighbor
prostituted by her mother at age 14
then raped by the white men
who ran the music business
for the rest of her life
.70 cents in her checking account on the day of her passing
because fame doesn’t pay the damned rent
heroin and her beloved dog mister
had been the most consistent men in her life
and here i sit on a sunday just after sunrise
more than 50 years after her death
considering the only thing god gave her
was the most beautiful voice on earth
so she was deprived of everything else
even peace of mind
as my weeping mingles
in the air with strains of strange fruit
i can’t escape the notion
her last thought
was that she had to face a white judge
the following morning
4 replies on “god bless the child who has her own”
Oh…this one is just a brilliant write!
[…] god bless the child who has her own. […]
Made me cry. Thanks! I sang this song on my demo recording. The link is on my wordpress page. I re-blogged.
Oh……..powerful….your voice too is unique..