Cotton Tea
By Nikky Finney
"In 1840 a French writer, Bouchelle, reported that cotton root bark was widely used by Negro slaves in America to induce abortion."

Jordie give some to Mondie
Mondie pluck some for Lou
Lou wrap piece up for Lil
coming on Wednesday
Lil hand over a bag of glooming root flower to Etta
for her three stairstep girls
Etta go plant the res' in the window sill
right 'tween the spider plants
and the sun's sticky shade
all for Tad down the road
who everybody know rolled first words out last day
sundown and whose tongue been yellowin' steady
since the day of Jubilo
her blood most already here just a few years away
all these ones and all they new girls
chaw on cotton root
just for the jus-in-case
of forcing mens who answer to no god
the evilness does so pass pants to pants
father to son
colored women chaw on the cotton root
until they teeth is a certain yellaw
from the top insides of they throats
to the pillows of they woman's easter next
from the first it is cotton root washed and ready
Maewood African womans in a Daufuskie dark
when they birth girls
before they count her toes
or name her
be out in the field with her still sticky wet
pickin' the whole root stalk
right out the ground
snatching it and taking the blade to its bottom
they can it away in blue jars
just for the jus-in-case
for all the forcing there will surely be
on these here sea islands
cotton tea cain't stop no baby from being made
but can make they babies go 'way

From Rice Copyright © Nikky Finney. All rights reserved. Used by permission of the author

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