Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie Read Free Page A

point
    The thirteens. Right on.
    And you, you make me sorry
    You out here by yourself,
    I’d call you something dirty,
    But there just ain’t nothing left,
    cept
    The thirteens. Right On.
The Thirteens (White)
    Your Momma kissed the chauffeur,
    Your Poppa balled the cook,
    Your sister did the dirty,
    in the middle of the book,
    The thirteens. Right On.
    Your daughter wears a jock strap,
    Your son he wears a bra
    Your brother jonesed your cousin
    in the back seat of the car.
    The thirteens. Right On.
    Your money thinks you’re something
    But if I’d learned to curse,
    I’d tell you what your name is
    But there just ain’t nothing worse
    than
    The thirteens. Right On.
Harlem Hopscotch
    One foot down, then hop! It’s hot.
    Â Â Good things for the ones that’s got.
    Another jump, now to the left.
    Â Â Everybody for hisself.
    In the air, now both feet down.
    Â Â Since you black, don’t stick around.
    Food is gone, the rent is due,
    Â Â Curse and cry and then jump two.
    All the people out of work,
    Â Â Hold for three, then twist and jerk.
    Cross the line, they count you out.
    Â Â That’s what hopping’s all about.
    Both feet flat, the game is done.
    They think I lost. I think I won.

Also by Maya Angelou
    And Still I Rise
    Gather Together in My Name
    The Heart of a Woman
    I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
    Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well
    Singin’ and Swingin’ and Gettin’ Merry Like Christmas
    Shaker, Why Don’t You Sing?
    All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes
    I Shall Not Be Moved
    On the Pulse of Morning
    Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now
    The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou
    Phenomenal Woman
    A Brave and Startling Truth

About the Author
    Maya Angelou, author of the best-selling
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
,
Gather Together in My Name
, and
The Heart of a Woman
, has also written five collections of poetry:
Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ’fore I Diiie
;
Oh Pray My Wings Are Gonna Fit Me Well
;
And Still I Rise
;
Shaker, Why Don’t You Sing
?; and
I Shall Not Be Moved
; as well as
On the Pulse of Morning
, which was read by her at the inauguration of President William Jefferson Clinton on January 20, 1993. In theater, she produced, directed, and starred in
Cabaret for Freedom
in collaboration with Godfrey Cambridge at New York’s Village Gate, starred in Genet’s
The Blacks
at the St. Mark’s Playhouse, and adapted Sophocles ’
Ajax
, which premiered at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in 1974. She wrote the original screenplay and musical score for the film
Georgia, Georgia
and wrote and produced a ten-part TV series on African traditions in American life. In the sixties, at the request of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., she became the northern coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and in 1975 she received the
Ladies’ Home Journal
Woman of the Year Award in communications. She has received numerous honorary degrees and was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the National Commission on the Observance of International Women’s Year and by President Gerald R. Ford to the American Revolution Bicentennial Advisory Council. She is on the board of trustees of the American Film Institute. One of the few female members of the Directors Guild, Angelou is the author of the television screenplays
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
and
The Sisters
. Most recently, she wrote the lyrics for the musical
King: Drum Major for Love
and was both host and writer for the series of documentaries
Maya Angelou’s America: A Journey of the Heart
, along with Guy Johnson. Angelou is currently Reynolds Professor at Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.