African American Poetry: A Digital Anthology Main Menu Full Text Collection: Books Published by African American Poets, 1870-1929 Long list of 100+ full texts books of poetry available on this "Anthology" Author Pages: Bios and Full Text Collections List of African American poets on African American Periodical Poetry (1900-1928) A collection of African Amerian Periodical Poetry, mostly focused on 1900-1928 Areas of Interest: Topics and Themes African American Poetry: Anthologies of the 1920s Poetry by African American Women (1890-1930): A Reader and Guide Open access textbook introducing readers to Poetry by Black Women Exploring Datasets related to African American poetry About This Site: Mission Statement, Contributors, and Recent Updates An account of the history and evolution of this site by the site editor. Further Reading / Works Cited

Fenton Johnson, "The Scarlet Woman" (1919)

213
THE SCARLET WOMAN

   Once I was good like the Virgin Mary and the
Minister's wife.
   My father worked for Mr. Pullman and white
people's tips; but he died two days after his insurance
expired.
   I had nothing, so I had to go to work.
   All the stock I had w^as a white girl's education
and a face that enchanted the men of both races.
   Starvation danced with me.
   So when Big Lizzie, who kept a house for white
men, came to me with tales of fortune that I could
to reap Vice. from the sale of my virtue I bowed my head
   Now I can drink more gin than any man for miles around.
Gin is better than all the water in Lethe. 


Published in Others, 1919

This page has paths:

  1. Fenton Johnson: Poems and Author Profile Amardeep Singh

This page has tags:

  1. Free Verse Amardeep Singh