“I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color
purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.” ― Alice Walker, The Color Purple
Sunday’s are for dressin’ your best.
Aint no time for a raggedy dress
full of wrinkles and smellin’
like last night’s Juke Joint.
Yes, Josie I saw you
paradin’ down Main Street
with that red skirt barely
coverin’ imagination.
I swear the twist in your bottom
had the devil hopin’ you’d
side step a little closer to hell.
Go on now…put on that purple dress,
Every time I see those pearl buttons
shinin’ on the sleeves and the white lace
peekin’ from the collar I remember
the hours your mama put in to makin’ it.
She didn’t want no plain cotton dress
for her girl when she went to God’s house.
Those pintucks gracin’ the front of your dress
made her smile with each stitch ‘cause
no other mama she knew could sew as straight.
That was the last thing she sewed before
Jesus picked her up from her fever bed
and carried her to heaven…
When she was so sick she couldn’t sit up,
she told me to hang the dress in the doorway
so God would know she’d picked his favorite color.
So Josie put on your purple dress and stand tall.
Your mama gonna be peekin’ through the clouds
to watch you walkin’ into church, and if
you got any repentin’ to do that’s between
you and the Lord... Speak it in his ear.
He’s got a big heart just ready for forgivin’.
Fireblossom Friday ~ Clothes Make The Woman
Comments
really love this!
♥
Loved every moment of this. And purple is my favorite, too. Amy
barely coverin’ imagination."
intense
much love...
So much intolerance in the guise of piety. Who are we to judge?
Knowing the back story— although not necessary to enjoy your wonderful poem— helps to reinforce the message. How victims often internalize their experience and become abusers themselves is the ultimate tragedy.
In spite of it, Celie’s heroic pluck and sass expressed through your deft embrace of the color purple.
The Color Purple, a favorite of mine.