Southern Legitimacy Statement: Virginia Lee does not consider herself a poet, but she can write a decent set of song lyrics when the wind is just right and the moon’s phase is amenable. Lee mostly writes colloquial fiction set in the American South as suits her otherwise seemingly useless degree in Southern Studies, but now and again she finds a topic that whispers to her muses and they send her poetry in lieu of prose. These poems are pretty old, having been written in the ‘90s as part of a project for the Blues Anthropology course taught by the late Peter Aschoff at the U of Mississippi. Aschoff once eviscerated Lee for being a white girl daring to sing Blues on Beale Street during a yearly contest back in the day. Thinking of that makes Lee grin still, because Aschoff turned out to be just about the best teacher she had at Ole Miss and she ended up taking three of the four courses he taught.

Ruby Poems

I.

Girl,
don’t drink no
brown liquor –
ruin your voice.

White liquor
so smooth.
Vodka.
Gin.

Bartender!
Tanqueray
tonic
extra lime.

Ahhhh…



II.

Girlfriend!
Hold my fur coat
While I sang.

b-but
You
don’t even know
me

You a woman
Ain’t you?
Better
Than these
Mens.
You a WOMAN
Ain’t you?

yes ma’am
guess so



III.

Please
Tell me about Ellum –
I know you can.

What did it do
to your

Soul

Heart

Esteem
Please
Sing it to me –
I know you can.