1 & it came upon de night when dr. luther-king got shot &
kill(t) nico(demons) & dey gun came tween mama mary &
her turnin de corner tward de house 2 & her say young
man i aint ready to go sweepin thru de city 3 offer(s) de pig
ear sammich in her purse & when nico(demons) say dey
dont eat swine her go what bout peanut brittle 4 &
nico(demons) bark lady jus(t) gimme yo bread i dont wanna
shootchu but i will 5 den nico(demons) snatch her purse
ax if her bread was in derr or in her bank & mama mary
point(s) tward(s) her bank 6 & nico(demons) say lady i dont
wanna go inside yo bank & get it but i will 7 mama mary
turn(t) roun(d) retch inside her blouse & pull out her car-
fare to & from work a sawbuc(k) (it was all her had) 8 den
her situate(d) herself decent befo her turn(t) bac(k) roun(d)
to hand nico(demons) de sawbuc(k) 9 & den nico(demons)
say later lady & take off runnin 10 but befo her cud take off
tward de house nico(demons) run bac(k) to kiss her cheek
& say u a sweet lady & i really need dat sammich 11 den
mama mary retch in her purse & han(d) nico(demons) her
pig ear sammich & her also give de peanut brittle 12
nico(demons) lef(t) 13 & den nico say unto her thank u maam
deez de only thing(s) i know i didnt take
From neck|bone: visual verses (Northwestern University Press, 2019) by avery r. young. Copyright © 2019 avery r. young. Reprinted with permission of the author.