Lord she’s gone done left me done packed / up and split
and I with no way to make her
come back and everywhere the world is bare
bright bone white crystal sand glistens
dope death dead dying and jiving drove
her away made her take her laughter and her smiles
and her softness and her midnight sighs–

Fuck Coltrane and music and clouds drifting in the sky
fuck the sea and trees and the sky and birds
and alligators and all the animals that roam the earth
fuck marx and mao fuck fidel and nkrumah and
democracy and communism fuck smack and pot
and red ripe tomatoes fuck joseph fuck mary fuck
god jesus and all the disciples fuck fanon nixon
and malcom fuck the revolution fuck freedom fuck
the whole muthafucking thing
all i want now is my woman back
so my soul can sing

Analysis, meaning and summary of Etheridge Knight's poem Feeling Fucked Up

3 Comments

  1. colleen says:

    This is a great poem. I knew nothing about Etheridge Knight, but I knew this was a black man speaking as soon as I read it. I found that interesting and was trying to figure out why. I think it’s mostly because of the diction related to his appreciation of the woman. It is so consuming.

  2. Jeff says:

    Amazing. Changed my life.

  3. Paul says:

    Nice poem

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Do you have any comments, criticism, paraphrasis or analysis of this poem that you feel would assist other visitors in understanding the meaning or the theme of this poem by Etheridge Knight better? If accepted, your analysis will be added to this page of American Poems. Together we can build a wealth of information, but it will take some discipline and determination.