Thursday, March 13, 2025

Smooth

Listen to my feet and I will tell you the story of my life.
~John Bubbles


Happy Poetry Friday! My first poetic impulse was...dark, but I searched until I found my second third fourth impulse, haha, and so here we are with a poem by Glenis Redmond about Peg Leg Bates.


I’m Fly
Glenis Redmond
For Clayton “Peg Leg” Bates

Some people got two good feet
and still don’t know what to do.
My smoothness makes the argument
for just one. My other leg be long gone
sacrificed to the cotton gin god.

They pinned my mangled mess down
to the kitchen table. Made me suffer more
under the hand of an unsterilized knife
with only a cotton bit to bare the pain.

I got up and spit out that terrible taste
of Jim Crow and pity. Spun my mama’s guilt
and worry into a dance that twists past
the neighbors’ prayer, gossip and stares...

read the rest here




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Salt City Verse has the Poetry Friday round-up. Thanks, Janice!

Want another helping of joy? I love this and these folks.

12 comments:

laurasalas said...

Wow. The poem, the video, the story. Wow.

Janice Scully said...

Astounding story and poem about this resourceful man! Thank you for sharing this inspiring story, video and poem.

jama said...

Wow!! Amazing!!

Pop said...

Definitely inspiring. I saw him dance on TV a couple of times and each time I was amazed!

mbhmaine said...

Wow! Thanks for going with that fourth impulse!

Michelle Kogan said...

I have to give another Wow for Peg Leg Bates, he’s stealing the show! Thanks for the Poem too!

Mary Lee said...

Thank goodness for all of the impulses that got you to number 4! If he can do THAT with one good leg, then what's stopping me?!?!

Linda Kulp Trout said...

I had never read this poem so I'm glad you posted it. Great choice! xo

jlcjbuzz said...

This is inspiring. Thank you for sharing the story of Peg Leg Bates.

Karen Edmisten said...

If he can "get up on his one good leg and fly" I can keep going too. (And it's okay to go dark sometimes. That's sometimes the job of art and poetry, right?)

Tabatha said...

Thank you, Karen, yes! As they say, the job of the arts is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.

Carol Varsalona said...

Tabatha, what an amazing story and poem. The video shared the talented Peg Leg Bates. He must have been an interesting person. Thanks.