[lady in brown] "de library waz right down from de trolly tracks"

lady in brown de library waz right down from de trolly tracks cross from de laundry-mat thru de big shinin floors & granite pillars ol st. louis is famous for i found toussaint but not til after months uv cajun katie/ pippi longstockin christopher robin/ eddie heyward & a pooh bear in the children’s room only pioneer girls & magic rabbits & big city white boys i knew i waznt sposedta but i ran inta the ADULT READING ROOM & came across TOUSSAINT my first blk man (i never counted george washington carver cuz i didnt like peanuts) still TOUSSAINT waz a blk man a negro like my mama say who refused to be a slave & he spoke french & didnt low no white man to tell him nothin not napolean not maximillien not robespierre TOUSSAINT L’OUVERTURE waz the beginnin uv reality for me in the summer contest for who colored child can read 15 books in three weeks i won & raved abt TOUSSAINT L’OUVERTURE at the afternoon ceremony waz disqualified cuz Toussaint belonged in the ADULT READING ROOM & i cried & carried dead Touissant home in the book he waz dead & livin to me cuz TOUSSAINT & them they held the citadel gainst the french wid the spirits of ol dead africans from outta the ground TOUSSAINT led they army of zombies walkin cannon ball shootin spirits to free Haiti & they waznt slaves no more TOUSSAINT L’OUVERTURE became my secret lover at the age of 8 i entertained him in my bedroom widda flashlight under my covers way inta the night/ we discussed strategies how to remove white girls from my hopscotch games & etc. TOUSSAINT waz laying in bed wit me next to raggedy ann the night i decided to run away from my integrated home integrated street integrated school 1955 waz not a good year for lil blk girls Toussaint said ‘lets go to haiti’ i said ‘awright’ & packed some very important things in a brown paper bag so i wdnt haveta come back then Toussaint & i took the hodiamont streetcar to the river last stop only 15¢ cuz there waznt nobody cd see Toussaint cept me & we walked all down thru north st. louis where the french settlers usedta live in tiny brick houses all huddled together wit barely missin windows & shingles uneven wit colored kids playin & women on low porches sippin beer i cd talk to Toussaint down by the river like this waz where we waz gonna stow away on a boat for new orleans & catch a creole fishin-rig for port-au-prince then we waz just gonna read & talk all the time & eat fried bananas we waz just walkin & skippin past ol drunk men when dis ol young boy jumped out at me sayin ‘HEY GIRL YA BETTAH COME OVAH HEAH N TALK TO ME’ well i turned to TOUSSAINT (who waz furious) & i shouted ‘ya silly old boy ya bettah leave me alone or TOUSSAINT’S gonna get yr ass’ de silly ol boy came round de corner laughin all in my face ‘yellah gal ya sure must be somebody to know my name so quick’ i waz disgusted & wanted to get on to haiti widout some tacky ol boy botherin me still he kept standin there kickin milk cartons & bits of brick tryin to get all in my business i mumbled to L’OUVERTURE ‘what shd I do’ finally i asked this silly ol boy ‘WELL WHO ARE YOU?’ he say ‘MY NAME IS TOUSSAINT JONES’ well i looked right at him those skidded out cordoroy pants a striped teashirt wid holes in both elbows a new scab over his left eye & i said ‘what’s yr name again’ he say ‘i’m toussaint jones’ ‘wow i am on my way to see TOUSSAINT L’OUVERTURE in HAITI are ya any kin to him he dont take no stuff from white folks & they gotta country all they own & there aint no slaves’ that silly ol boy squinted his face all up looka heah girl i am TOUSSAINT JONES & i’m right heah lookin at ya & i dont take no stuff from no white folks ya dont see none round heah do ya?’ & he sorta pushed out his chest then he say ‘come on lets go on down to the docks & look at the boats’ i waz real puzzled goin down to the docks wit my paper bag & my books i felt TOUSSAINT L’OUVERTURE sorta leave me & i was sad til i realized TOUSSAINT JONES waznt too different from TOUSSAINT L’OUVERTURE cept the ol one waz in haiti & this one wid me speakin english & eatin apples yeah. toussaint jones waz awright wit me no tellin what all spirits we cd move down by the river st. louis 1955 hey wait.