Dropsy
It's ole fashioned dropsy the doctor said
It was words like congestive heart failure
thoughts of cancer that made her cringe
Dropsy she knew like gingerbread
& brown sugar sauce
like thimbles & coal burning stoves
like cotton dresses kissing right below the knee
She snuggled in dropsy like a patchwork quilt
cause dropsy was from where she was from
dirt roads & the backwoods
Dropsy was from ole time days
when Doctor Creech came on horseback
& delivered all her babies
Dropsy came from her mama's last breath
Lily was her name she knew dropsy too
cause dropsy was kin to high yellow
high cheekbone, barely brown gals
It kilt Grandma Lily, too, dropsy did
She knew she'd be weak
knew her days were numbered less
knew grandfather was home
listening to the rain hit the tin roof
waiting for his woman, Please don't go
—Crystal Wilkinson
—found in Perfect Black (2021)