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American Elegy

Less boy, more band,

more twang, less bling,

less hip-hop, on brand,

more opry, less bang,

less cornrows, more corn-

field, spiritual, less house,

more plantation, a shorn

image, more downhome,

more green, more blue

sky, more bluegrass,

less rhythm, less

blues, more church pew,

more cross, less hood,

more hood, more white

washed denim, less back-

lash, more goldenrod,

less ballad, more lyric,

less gold grills, less rap

sheet, more sheet music,

less trap beat, less trap

beat, more poplar,

less popular, a more authentic timbre,

more big game, more field

dressing, more lake,

more master—control.

from Fantasia for the Man in BlueFind more by Tommye Blount at the library

Copyright © 2020 Tommye Blount
Used with the permission of The Permissions Company, LLC on behalf of Four Way Books.

Published in Poems Tommye Blount

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Idaho Humanities Council, a State-based program of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this (publication, website, exhibit, etc.) do not necessarily represent those of the Idaho Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.