White girl of the Midwest
left for the coast
with the imprint
of Bessie Smith
engraved upon her soul.

Her Big Brother was so loud
that she took on the shape
of passion's own megaphone.

That booming blue wail
of love and sorrow
reverberated across
the rivers and seas
of a beauty called Tellus.

She remains here,
in a record collection,
coloring a memory from younger days,
making us listen for a hoarse whisper
followed by a storm.

You left, Janis,
and still we keep trying
just a little bit harder.