Hokum

Hokum 
they called it

lowdown pun-funny blues
about
putting fruit in her basket
or
grinding his meat
or
how much she longs for 
a little sugar in her bowl

Tampa Red said
it’s tight like that
and Ma Rainey agreed
and just this side of all that
even Robert Johnson
had hot tamales (they’re red hot)
for sale

and people smiled
and some no doubt got laid
though no doubt
few got paid
Got to trust the hokum
to pick you up
on a Saturday night

Way back then
a couple of White boys
called the Allen Brothers
liked what they heard
laid down a few songs like that
They did a fine job
So fine a job
their songs were released
in their label’s 
“race records” series
by mistake

They sued
for damage to their reputation
and left their label

I read a scholarly article
on hokum once
that said the best of the genre’s lyrics
compared favorably to Chaucer

Some comparisons
evidently
are more favorable than others