The Bedstuy Notebook: The Men by Jacqueline Johnson | Poems Rethabile Likes
The Bedstuy Notebook: The Men
by Jacqueline Johnson
Some men know what to do with a woman
tell difference between the scent of girls
sounds of a woman underneath them.
Men who know how to open
the sky in a woman in one glance,
what moment is plum
for lovin’
drum meaning memory.
Some men know what to
do with their hands
how to set a house on its foundation,
how to hold a woman
gently,
like smooth wood of a hammer
as they follow
anywhere she wants to go.
Other men know how to build things,
how to measure
intricacies of electricity,
difference between gas lines, water lines,
complexities of knowing exactly,
where to lay their lips.
Some men know
more than three ways to open a lock
and a woman's heart,
men who carry understanding
in their sweaty, dust-filled hair.
tell difference between the scent of girls
sounds of a woman underneath them.
Men who know how to open
the sky in a woman in one glance,
what moment is plum
for lovin’
drum meaning memory.
Some men know what to
do with their hands
how to set a house on its foundation,
how to hold a woman
gently,
like smooth wood of a hammer
as they follow
anywhere she wants to go.
Other men know how to build things,
how to measure
intricacies of electricity,
difference between gas lines, water lines,
complexities of knowing exactly,
where to lay their lips.
Some men know
more than three ways to open a lock
and a woman's heart,
men who carry understanding
in their sweaty, dust-filled hair.
Comments