(10) ISHMAEL REED –

I AM A COWBOY IN THE BOAT OF RA (1972)

“Who was that
dog-faced man? they asked, the day I rode
from town”

One mythic trippy poem but then – “O the untrustworthiness of Egyptologists who do not know their trips”.

What’s not to love about this fusion of Egyptian mythology (and my favorite dog god Anubis), the American West and much more in the whole damn fantasy kitchen sink? Afro-American poet Ishmael Reed rocks it – or perhaps more precisely, jazzes it – in his most well-known poem that has been “dazzling, confusing, confounding and infuriating readers” since it was first published.

“Bring me my Buffalo horn of black powder
bring me my headdress of black feathers
bring me my bones of Ju-Ju snake
go get my eyelids of red paint.
Hand me my shadow
I’m going into town after Set”

RATING: 4 STARS****
A-TIER (TOP TIER)