Sunday, July 27, 2014

Three Women

My skin is porcelain tan
I’ve been beaten robbed and raped
Because I’m not as strong as a man
I have wandered the world in search
Of fulfillment, can’t find
peace anywhere
Born and raised in Italy’s ghettos
I learned how to play a hand as good
As any man
Dealt cards in the best casinos
in big cities everywhere
My plate is bitter,
I’ve got constant jitters,
not a quitter
I’m tough as they come
My name is Rosa

My skin is rosy
Born in a concentration camp I survived
I never knew my mother
Soldiers came from England
Gave me chocolate from their hands
Sister Ruth held my hand
Said I had blue eyes like my mother
I escaped the holocaust but I’ll never be free,
I’m slave to fears and misery
Afraid to see beauty, afraid to sleep,
Toss, turn, trapped in rough seas,
refuse to weep, my life in a heap
The days run blue mystical,
Fast, hard rains fall
Blinding like sparkling stars
My name is Ruby

My ancestors left Spain
I’m a woman of color, black hair, black eyes, olive skin
My family came to the new world in 1492
Before they slaughtered all us Jews
Persecuted for religious beliefs,
The new world provides no relief
Punished for the sins of my fathers
I tell them I’m Jew not Roman
Confused they persist in rebuking me,
Call me Christ killer
My name is Gypsy!




I dunno, you be the judge as to which version is better and tell me below. I want to know.

Three Women (oops my bad - still editing)

My skin is porcelain tan
I’ve been beaten robbed and raped
Because I’m not as strong as a man
I have wandered the world in search
Of fulfillment, can’t find
peace anywhere
Born and raised in Italy’s ghettos
I learned how to play a hand as good
As any man
Dealt cards in the best casinos
in big cities everywhere
My plate is bitter,
I’ve got constant jitters,
not a quitter
I’m tough as they come
My name is Rosa

My skin is rosy
Born in a concentration camp I survived
I never knew my mother
Soldiers came from England
Gave me chocolate from their hands
Sister Ruth held my hand
Said I had blue eyes like my mother
I escaped the holocaust but I’ll never be free,
I’m slave to fears and misery
Afraid to see beauty, afraid to sleep,
I’m too busy counting sheep
The days run blue mystical,
Fast, hard rains fall
Blinding like sparkling stars
My name is Ruby

My ancestors left Spain
I’m a woman of color, with black hair, black eyes, olive skin
My family came to the new world in 1492
Before they slaughtered all us Jews
Persecuted for religious beliefs,
The new world provides no relief
Punished for the sins of my fathers
I tell them I’m Jew not Roman
Confused they persist in rebuking me,
Call me Christ killer              
My name is Gypsy!