Great post, LM. It reminds me of Beat poetry - Ginsburg and Ferlinghetti. And a wonderful homage to the town that you came from, and can never wholly leave.
The Wanderer | Homepage | 06.12.08 - 3:12 am | #

"I'm never really ever gone." -LoLo

No LoLo - we never really are...


-former Harlemite 1982 - 1986
drbopperthp | 06.12.08 - 4:27 am | #

Wow, LM. Fantastic poetry. I felt like I was there.
Jill | Homepage | 06.12.08 - 6:06 am | #

Wow, on every level.
US Blues | 06.12.08 - 6:44 am | #

Bravo
Kitty | 06.12.08 - 6:51 am | #

brilliant sir. the reverend adam clayton powell was certainly a giant. his reach and voice were heard all the way into the indian reservations of the west. the man was a force of nature, a force for good.

beautiful stuff.
Minstrel Hussain Boy | Homepage | 06.12.08 - 7:44 am | #

Wow, wow, and WOW. Wonderful.
Jen | 06.12.08 - 7:45 am | #

Beautiful.

I was in Manhattan a few weeks back, visited the Apollo.


Wonderful to hear the POV of one who lived there.
billy pilgrim | Homepage | 06.12.08 - 8:32 am | #

You keep me in awe of your writing, LM.
Mama4Obama | 06.12.08 - 9:26 am | #

damn. that's way better than classic. i got educated today. thanx.
mr bigstuff | Homepage | 06.12.08 - 10:13 am | #

gorgeous & true.

from a native daughter.
Terri Hussein Brush in Tokyo | Homepage | 06.12.08 - 10:15 am | #

You are a man who loves t write and does it well.
tenacitus | Homepage | 06.12.08 - 10:20 am | #

Never been, but for a few minutes I was there. Man!
bjacques | Homepage | 06.12.08 - 12:20 pm | #

Wow.
Aviva032 | 06.12.08 - 12:22 pm | #

That is great.
Peter VE | 06.12.08 - 1:25 pm | #

Thank you -- I miss it now more than ever. Even if I was only there for a mere blip in time.

-W151st/Bway 2000-2005
me | 06.12.08 - 2:32 pm | #

You, sir, are a poet.
Dan Leo | Homepage | 06.12.08 - 3:10 pm | #

Love the vivid imagery!
Rosali | 06.12.08 - 5:11 pm | #

Outstanding, LM. That was a breathtakingly vivid evocation of times and places.
prof fate | 06.12.08 - 6:09 pm | #

I gotta love someone who, through the power of their writing, can take me to places I've never been, and make me feel like I've always been there.

Simply Powerful.
ceabaird | 06.12.08 - 7:03 pm | #

outstanding

please publish your work,LM -my aged printer would thank you for it and I'd be in seventh heaven.
LC | 06.12.08 - 11:28 pm | #

Thank you. Seconding LC's comment.
Bruce | Homepage | 06.12.08 - 11:46 pm | #

Thanks LM, never lived there but did pass through many times.
Periwinkle Spark Plug | 06.13.08 - 4:10 am | #

Beautiful. Reminded me of beat poetry, too.
bicycle Hussein paladin | 06.13.08 - 5:30 am | #

LM, i have just finished re-reading this for like the seventh time.

it remains a shining example of brilliant craftsmanship.

(tips hat)

sir.
Minstrel Hussain Boy | Homepage | 06.13.08 - 7:49 am | #

LM, you (and Digby) are the reason I don't have my own blog. You've just set the bar too high.
Molly, NYC | 06.13.08 - 11:59 am | #

LM, did I ever tell you about the time I almost got to be one of Wilt's 20K?

Another story for another day, perhaps.

Thanks for a magical evening. I was re=watching the first episode of "Mad Men" the other night, and noticed that the very first scene of the very first episode has Don Draper sketching out cigarette campaign notes in a back booth at the Lenox Lounge.

Hey, I thought: I know that place!
Mrs. Robinson | 06.13.08 - 7:50 pm | #

Wow; that was magical. I stubled across this website playing around on my computer when I should be hard at work I am a Harlimite, born in Harlem Hospital 1973. With the exception of a few of my childhood years spent in the West Indies, I have lived in Central Harlem all of my life, and I am still there. You have captured the essence of such a wonderful place. Harlem is a true enigma: strange, scary, beautiful, sad, and ecstatic all rolled up in one, and I love it all.
amira williams | 07.08.08 - 8:03 am | #