For Michael S. Harper
Billie Holiday's burned voice
had as many shadows as lights,
a mournful candelabra against a sleek piano,
the gardenia her signature under that ruined face.
(Now you're cooking, drummer to bass,
magic spoon, magic needle.
Take all day if you have to
with your mirror and your bracelet of song.)
Fact is, the invention of women under siege
has been to sharpen love in the service of myth.
If you can't be free, be a mystery.
This line can be interpreted in the literal sense that if you are oppressed, treated unjustly, or given unequal opportunity, as African-Americans were throughout the pre-Civil Rights Era (and after), you must keep to yourself to escape from the oppression. Secrets must be guarded and dirty work must be done, because in situations like these, the majority are against you. “Mystery” suggests that one must almost wear a mask to appear unaffected by the surrounding situation, and not let one’s true feelings prevail, as this will most likely end up in ultimate loss. 

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