For Colored Girls Page #7

Crystal.

What kind of person am l?

Every single day, she's in my face, Carl.

l never knew it.

You okay?

l was sitting here and l was thinking,

"Who can l call? Who can l talk to?"

You should've called me.

Come on, come on. Come on.

l'm here now. Okay? l'm here.

Let me get you cleaned up, okay?

l'll get you cleaned up. l'll run a nice,

hot bath for you, make you feel better.

l got you, baby.

Mama, l am so sorry.

That that was growing inside you was a sin.

lt had to be destroyed.

You go pray to Elnohim for forgiveness.

l don't hear you praying.

Kind and gentle God, l pray

that you will forgive me, for l have sinned.

Give me the strength

to resist the temptations

-that the devil puts in front of me.

-l don't hear you praying.

l pray for your forgiveness,

-and then l can become a better person.

-Hear yourself, child.

We call upon you to take the devil

out of this child!

Take the devil out of this child!

Clear this child. Come out! Come out, child!

Why doesn't somebody come and save you?

Let go of me!

Repent! Repent! Repent!

Hi.

l can't get this blood out.

lt's here,

and people walking all over it,

my babies' blood.

A part of me knows this happened,

but most of me feels like l'm dreaming.

Am l awake?

l don't feel awake.

This must be what death feels like.

Have some respect for my babies!

-l'm sorry.

-Nyla.

-She just pulled my hair hard, that's all.

-Crystal, do you have a dry towel?

Crystal?

Can l have a dry towel?

No, l like you, too.

Hey, you better be careful...

-You happy now, Tangie?

-What're you doing in there?

You sent me to that woman and you knew.

You should have told me

that the $300 was for an abortion,

instead of lying like you did.

-Baby. Baby, who's that?

-That's just my sister.

Can she come over and join us?

-She's 1 6.

-Qnd?

Motherf***er, get your ass

out of my hallway.

-Baby.

-No, l don't want to see your face!

l don't want to see your face!

Crazy b*tch.

Yeah, you got the short eyes. Yeah?

You like to f*** little boys, too?

You like me 'cause l got my little titties?

They remind you of a kid?

Sick-ass motherf***er!

-What's she doing in here?

-Who are you?

l'm her sister.

She had a fight with your mother.

l'm gonna let you guys talk.

-Hey.

-lt's not funny.

Sweetie, with a mother like ours,

you better learn how to laugh,

to keep from crying. Did she do the oil?

l got it, too.

But l did not think that she would do it

-to her favorite...

-Stupid b*tch! Stop laughing at me!

lt's not funny!

l'm sorry.

No, l know what it's like to be laughed at.

-l apologize.

-Why do you hate me so much, Tangie?

-l don't hate you.

-Yeah? Because you act like it.

Yeah, l know.

Come on.

You can't love somebody

with that much hurt in them.

l'm learning that more and more.

l don't know what's wrong with me.

"l've lost touch with reality

l don't know who's doing it

"l thought l was, but l was stupid

"l was able to be hurt

"And that's not real

"Not anymore

"We should be immune

"lf we're still alive

"How are we still alive?

"My dependency on other living beings

For love

"l survive on intimacy

"And tomorrow that's all l've got going

"lt's all l've got

Being alive

"And being a woman

"Being colored is a metaphysical dilemma

l haven't conquered yet

"Do you see the point?"

We're sisters, Tangie.

l think the least that we can do

is just be there for each other.

"Once there were quadroon balls

"Elegance in St. Louis

"Laced mulattoes

Gambling down the Mississippi

"To Memphis, New Orleans

"And okra crepes near the bayou

Where the poor white trash would sing

"Moaning strange liquid tones

Through the swamps

"Sechita had heard these things

"She pushed the clinging Delta dust

With painted toes

"Creole Carnival was playing Natchez

"Sechita, Egyptian goddess of creativity

Second millennium

"Threw her heavy hair in a coil over her neck

"The recording of history

Spread crimson oil on her cheeks

"Waxed her eyebrows

"And unconsciously slugged

The last hard whiskey in the glass

"The broken mirror she used

To decorate her face

"Made her forehead tilt backwards

Her cheeks appear sunken

"Sechita had learned to make allowances

For the distortions

"But the heavy dust of the Delta

Left a tinge of grit and darkness

"On every one of her dresses

"Sechita was anxious

To get back to St. Louis

"The dirt there didn't crawl from the earth

lnto your soul

"At least in St. Louis

The grime was store-bought

"Second-hand.

"Sechita could hear redneck whoops

And slapping on the back

"She gathered her sparsely sequined skirt

And made her face immobile

"Like Nefertiti approaching her own tomb"

ls that him, ma'am?

Yes. What happened to him?

He raped a woman, and she stabbed him.

l guess the bastard got

what was coming to him, huh?

l guess so.

Paging Dr. Peter, please call...

Dr. Peter, please call...

-They just pumped her stomach.

-Can we see her?

Not just yet. As soon as she stabilizes,

l'll let everybody know.

Babe. Come on to bed.

l will.

How long are you gonna do this?

l was supposed to get them out of there.

Because we had to go see a doctor

about not being able to have a child,

meanwhile, leaving those tzo kids

in that apartment...

Hey, one thing has nothing to do

with the other.

No matter what, l love you. Come to bed.

Frank?

Frank, l know you thought

l forgot this morning, but l didn't.

Frank! Happy birthday?

No. No!

"Somebody almost walked off

With all of my stuff

"And didn't care enough

To send a note home saying

"l was late for my solo conversation

"Or two sizes too small

For my own tacky skirts

"What can anybody do with something

Of no value on an open market?

"Did you get a dime for my things?

Hey, man

"Where are you going with all of my stuff?

"This is a woman's trip

And l need my stuff to 'ooh' and 'ah' about

"Honest to God, somebody almost ran off

With all of my stuff

"And l didn't bring anything

But the kick and sway of it

"The perfect ass for my man

And none of it is theirs

"This is mine

Juanita's own things

"That's my name

Now give me my stuff

"l see you hiding my laugh

"And how l sit with my legs open sometimes

To give my crotch some sunlight

"This is some delicate leg

And whimsical kiss

"l gotta have to give to my choice

"So you can't have me

Unless l give me away

"And l was doing all that

Till you ran off on a good thing

"And who is this you left me with?

Some simple b*tch with a bad attitude

"l want my things

"l want my arm with the hot iron scar

"l want my leg with the flea bite

"Yeah

l want my things

"l want my calloused feet

And quick language back in my mouth

"l want my own things

How l loved them

"Somebody almost ran off

With all of my stuff

"And l was standing there

Looking at myself the whole time

"lt wasn't a spirit that ran off with my stuff

"lt was a man whose ego

Walked 'round like Rodan's shadow

"lt was a man faster than my innocence

"lt was a lover

Rate this script:2.3 / 6 votes