She does not know
 Her beauty,
 She thinks her brown skin
 Has no glory.
 If she could dance
 Naked,
 Under palm trees
 And see her image in the river
 She would know.

 But there are no palm trees
 On the street,
 And dishwater gives back no images.

i first heard this poem on the album ‘nina simone sings nina’ - she “sang” it without any instrumental accompaniment, her powerful and distinctive voice bringing a poignancy to the lyrics. her song is titled ‘images.’

i don’t know anything of waring cuney other than that he came out of the harlem rennaissance. nina simone, however, i know a little more about, and it was with some sadness that i read in the news that she had passed away.

although nina simone is often referred to as a jazz and blues singer, she is far too versatile to be squeezed into any category. in her raspy (and undeniably sexy) voice she did definitive cover versions of some very popular songs (she nearly moved me to tears with her rendition of brel’s ‘ne me quitte pas’).

nina simone was a powerful voice in the civil rights struggle, or as she liked to say “for her people.” she wrote and sang some of her best songs in response to socio-political events in the 60s - ‘mississipi goddam’, ‘four women’, and ‘why?’ (on the assassination of mlk jr.) to name a few.

i think it’s fair to say that nina was the last of the great black divas.

— Vidur

Here’s a biography:

http://www.dclibrary.org/blkren/bios/cuneyww.html