A Substitute For You

I just heard the "Princess of Black Poetry," Nikki Giovanni, on Bill Moyers Journal. She just released her 27th book of poetry entitled Bicycles. My girl always has a word for the way I am feeling...

A Substitute for You

I’m a fan of Christopher Columbus
I want to find a spice route too
They’ve got a substitute for sugar
I want a substitute for you

I’m gonna ride those trade winds
Find Gold in El Dorado too
They’ve got MasterCards for money
I need a substitute for you

My feet at night
Are so cold
I tell you they’re turning blue
They have a substitute for coal oil
I’ll buy a substitute for you

Some things are real though most things
Really don’t be true
They’ve got a substitute for the truth
But a lie right now won’t do

You let me think you loved me
Luckily I can’t sue
With work and play we drifted
I’m requesting something new

I’m not saying
This is nice
There’s a crack
That love fell through

I’m just saying
What we had is gone

I need a substitute
For you

Nikki Giovanni