Regie Gibson Imitations

heartbeat by Sandy Joseph 2

vodoo people by Sandy Joseph 4
Boogie on Gypsy Woman by Jackie Tynes 6
Music by Gaelle Wagnac 10
Allure by Stephany Jean 14
Temptation by Stephany Jean 16
 2

Sandy Joseph

heartbeat
(5:40 pm at bowdoin apartments malden.
2/27/10)
After Regie Gibson

pul se

cen te red in t h e mid dle of b ody of or gan s and s ins

de sti ny maker of hu man s thr obbing/ beat ing

scar eing lif e out ta pl ace/ in 3 2 mi nute s/ se con ds

so ur ce of adr ena line gone

pn 1 ness with your so ul

rush of emo ti ons hate/ lo ve go ing fast/ s low pas sion

o bli que dark n ess
the fee li ng gone fad ing in pie ces un done
 3

Sandy Joseph

heartbeat
(5:40 pm at bowdoin apartments malden.
2/27/10) Comment [n1]: I copied Gibson’s
title style. His title was in bold and he
After Regie Gibson also doesn’t capitalize it. In the title, he
also puts the place where he wrote it, the
time and the date.
pul se
Comment [n2]: Gibson starts off
poem with one word. He puts a space in
cen te red in t h e mid dle of b ody of or gan s and s ins between it.
Comment [n3]: Structure of the poem
de sti ny maker of hu man s thr obbing/ beat ing emphasizes Gibson’s train of thought. It
shows hoe he breaks down the words to
scar eing lif e out ta pl ace/ in 3 2 mi nute s/ se con ds convey meaning.
Comment [n4]: In this stanza, Gibson
so ur ce of adr ena line gone uses slashes to emphasize what a subject
is doing. The slashes represent the
pn 1 ness with your so ul relationship between contradictory terms.
Comment [n5]: I imitated his unique
rush of emo ti ons hate/ lo ve go ing fast/ s low pas sion style of applying numbers to make a
point.
o bli que dark n ess
the fee li ng gone fad ing in pie ces un done
Comment [n6]: Gibson finishes his
poems with no punctuation both to
demonstrate his style, showing its effect
and to provoke a sense of mystery and
awe to the reader.
 4

Sandy Joseph

vodoo people
(a poem derived out of stories I tell my boyfriend anthony on the phone at night)
After Regie Gibson

we dance to the song of evil

we dance to the tamboos of death
we be the soul suckers
hiding deep in the woods
of a tree that we may have or may not have cursed

we breathe the air of depression

and bathe in the mud of the dead
we be the cries
hidden deep inside corpses’ hearts
we worship in the woods
of malice

we be voodoo people
raising zombies from the dead
and making them work the fields
from the corner of leogane
which would speak and scream horror
if only they could, if only they could
to send us to the streaming rivers of the truth

we be red with blood of the innocent

thru the grand city of Port-au-prince
people running like cheetahs running
zombies crying
all lost in one
 5

Sandy Joseph

vodoo people
(a chant derived out of stories I tell my boyfriend anthony on the phone at night) Comment [n7]: Gibson writes his
poems based on what he does in his life.
After Regie Gibson In parentheses, he explains where his
inspiration derives.

we dance to the song of evil

we dance to the tamboos of death
we be the soul suckers Comment [n8]: Gibson repetitively
uses the word “we” to emphasize the
hiding deep in the woods rhythm and beat of his subject.
of a tree that we may have or may not have cursed

we breathe the air of depression Comment [n9]: Something clever that

Gibson does is he personifies ideas fairly
and bathe in the mud of the dead well. In my poem I personified
we be the cries “depression”.
hidden deep inside corpses’ hearts
we worship in the woods
of malice

we be voodoo people Comment [n10]: He uses the title in

his poem to clearly state what the poem is
raising zombies from the dead about, as do I.
and making them work the fields
from the corner of leogane
which would speak and scream horror Comment [n11]: I especially admired
this part of the poem, because Gibson
if only they could, if only they could shows the effect a place can have on its
to send us to the streaming rivers of the truth inhabitants. I could relate to it, and I did
the same with a city in Haiti.

we be red with blood of the innocent

thru the grand city of Port-au-prince
people running like cheetahs running
zombies crying
all lost in one Comment [n12]: Gibson once again
doesn’t use punctuation. The poem ends,
but it allows the reader to draw his or her
own conclusion. The thought remains.
 6

Jackie Tynes

Boogie on Gypsy Woman

Shakeshake
of the tambourine woman
spinnin round with
swing
ing hips
Crimson lips
that
woman moved
moved like
fire that
sparked a desire
in the flesh

of the men
men that did not understand
the
power
of those eyes
thighs draped
in transparent
silky smooth
moonlight

as she caresses
the skin
she penetrates
deep within
possessing with that
sa sa sa salsa
beat
along the
beach bare feet
sea
hurricane in her
long black hair

Boogie on Gypsy woman

Boogie on and on with

 7

that caribe rhythm

fellow care free women

let me watch your tempting steps

let the
chaa
chaa
of the waves drift
away with you
and i will follow
though you
promise
to leave me hollow
Boogie on Gypsy wo
man
i see you wo
man i feel you wo
man i breathe i seethe
i need you
need you to

Boogie boogie on Gypsy Woman

 8

Jackie Tynes

Boogie on Gypsy Woman

Shakeshake
of the tambourine woman
spinnin round with
swing The Swing ing hips is an example of the
enjambment that Gibson also uses in his
ing hips poetry. I though that it mad the poem
Crimson lips flow better as well as give the sound
that effect that I wanted.
woman moved
moved like
fire that Going off of Regie’s use of an
sparked a desire invisible woman that the speaker
in the flesh of his poem is constantly in love
with or talking about, I used the
of the men idea of a desire for this gypsy
men that did not understand
the
power Here I used a simple and short
of those eyes rhyme scheme that Gibson
thighs draped sometimes uses to make the poem
in transparent more rhythmic. I also did this to
silky smooth accentuate certain words.
moonlight
Here I put the sa sa sa to mimic
as she caresses how Gibson separates words to get
the skin the sound of a beat, he does this
she penetrates more in performances, like in his
deep within performance on Def Poetry of
possessing with that “The Eulogy of Jimi Christ”
sa sa sa salsa
beat This is an example of a one line
along the stanza that Gibson often has in his
beach bare feet poems. The reason I made “Boogie
sea on Gypsy woman” a one line stanza is
hurricane in her because I wanted to emphasize the
long black hair beauty and wonder of this woman’s
“boogie”. The way she is moving is
Boogie on Gypsy woman what captivates the men, not just her
looks.
Boogie on and on with
 9

that caribe rhythm While Gibson was heavily

fellow care free women influenced by the blues and jazz of
Chicago & Mississippi , I am
let me watch your tempting steps by the rhythms and
influenced
let the music of the Caribbean.
chaa
chaa After the discussion in class on
of the waves drift Gibson’s poetry I did eventually
away with you notice how many of Gibson’s poems
and i will follow tend to take a turn for the worst. I
though you tried doing the same by showing how
promise though this woman is beautiful, she is
destructive and will leave the man or
to leave me hollow
men heartbroken.
Boogie on Gypsy wo
man
i see you wo
I noticed that Gibson rarely
man i feel you wo
capitalizes the “I” in his poems. I
man i breathe i seethe
didn’t capitalize the speakers “i”
i need you
because I wanted to keep the focus
need you to
on the gypsy woman.
Boogie boogie on Gypsy Woman

Like Regie used songs for

inspiration for “The Eulogy of Jimi
Christ”, I used Stevie Wonder’s
“Boogie on Reggae Woman” and
Curtis Hayes “Gypsy Woman.
 10

Gaelle Wagnac

Music

Mu sic

bring j o y in my he art

th e w a y the beat drows a

m e l od y

mu sic

is like a metaphor

I feel like I could hold on

To th e ly rics forever

It makes me feel unbreakable.

Our last memories

Last moment

Everyday I wonder
What life would have been
If you were still here

I miss your sweet face/ your extraordinary smile/

the touch of your hands/ the way your smile lights the room

when you cry the way

your tears roll down your cheeks

I fee like I could hold on to

Your tears forever

Life without is not the same

 11

Kompa

We dance
We laugh

We hold on to each other

Like we never let go

Your hands around my hips

My hands around your back
My head resting on your chest
Moving to the rhythm

We move back in forth

The rhythm of the song
We be the rhythm
 12

Gaelle Wagnac

Music Comment [n13]: I just Music to name

this music, because I know that he like
song, so since I was trying to imitate his
Mu sic poem ‘’ Rhythm “ I might as well find a
title that’s close to it.

bring j o y in my he art Comment [n14]: In this line I was

trying to follow the break between the
lines, just like Gibson did in his poem
th e w a y the beat drows a called Rhythm

m e l od y

mu sic

is like a metaphor Comment [n15]: I notice in most of

his poem, he has metaphor and he use it
in sentence, so I thought I should do that
I feel like I could hold on to.

To th e ly rics forever Comment [n16]: Right there, I was

trying to create a metaphor, I know that
we hold music, I decided to do that
It makes me feel unbreakable. because Gibson has a lot of metaphor in
his poem.

Our last memories Comment [n17]: I also notice that his

poem relate to someone special or a love
one.
Last moment Comment [n18]: Again, right there I
was trying to follow, the break or space
he does between some lines, so he could
Everyday I wonder make you think.
What life would have been
If you were still here

I miss your sweet face/ your extraordinary smile/

the touch of your hands/ the way your smile lights the room Comment [n19]: Most of his poem
focuses on the imagery of the character or
whoever his writing the poem about.
when you cry the way

your tears roll down your cheeks

I fee like I could hold on to

Your tears forever

Life without is not the same

 13
Kompa
We dance
We laugh
We hold on to each other
Like we never let go
Your hands around my hips
My hands around your back
My head resting on your chest
Moving to the rhythm
We move back in forth
The rhythm of the song
We be the rhythm
Comment [n20]: Kompa is a Haitian
dance, I thought since he uses jazz people
as a title, I thought I might as well use
Kompa for the title
Comment [n21]: In this part, I tried
to make connection to someone, because
most of his poem he relates back to
someone. In his lines are mostly sexual
and deep
Comment [n22]: Gibson uses the
word rhythm a lot in his poem, and I also
felt like it was a way to create to a poem
 14

Stephany Jean

Allure
For Regie Gibson

we escape ourselves in each other

desperately resurrecting a deathly ardor

reminiscing

yearning
intertwined into one
abuse that privilege
i hurt for our lost love

bleeding
defeated

in the distance
messiah can you hear me
this serpent
luring from the promise land

imagine
how i feel
 15

Stephany Jean

Allure
For Regie Gibson

we escape ourselves in each other

desperately resurrecting a deathly ardor
Comment [SJ23]: At this point, the
speaker wants to be with her but he
knows that he cannot. He envisions their
reminiscing past escapades in his mind as the poem
continues. The pause after “yearning”
makes the audience believe that he is
craving to be in her midst right now. It
seems as if he was too caught up with his
yearning for that touch thoughts to complete his statement.

intertwined into one Comment [SJ24]: This resembles

another sexual reference from the past. I
tried to incorporate Gibson’s passionate
depictions of relationships that were
present in Storms Beneath My Skin.
abuse that privilege
Comment [SJ25]: The lack of
i hurt for our lost love punctuation used by Gibson makes his
thoughts run very smoothly. The fluidity
is broken up by awkward formatting
instead. Even though Gibson’s formatting
style is considered to be grammatically
bleeding incorrect, he makes perfect sense. Gibson
is a poet who wanders from what society
defeated would traditionally expect.
Comment [SJ26]: Gibson usually
writes about some sort of relationship, but
he never directly mentions who it is.
in the distance Could the various variations of
relationships resemble the one with his
messiah can you hear me ex-wife? The beginning of the
relationship is passionate (the positive
this serpent aspect) but it suddenly shifts to a painful
state in his life. The speaker of the poem
makes the audience believe that being
luring from the promise land hurt by the one you life for is the worst
kind of pain that one could possibly feel.
Comment [SJ27]: Being raised in a
imagine strict a devout Christian evangelical
fundamentalist household was sure to rub
off onto Gibson. His spiritual references
how i feel link his thought process to his childhood
because his mother was a Jehovah’s
Witness. I attempted to integrate aspects of
this past to construct a poem that is
supposedly about his present.
Comment [SJ28]: Gibson writes as if
the speaker is talking directly to his lost
love. The speaker wants her to understand
exactly how he felt after the relationship
ended.
 16

Stephany Jean

Temptation
For Regie Gibson

listen to her rhythm

she walks with swayed hips
temp ting folks that cross her path

her voice
seductive and slow
lures the streets into her grasp

but wait

a moment
slowly reaches its demise

and you think

about

this woman skilled vixen

a woman of this caliber

be careful not coy

beware her temptress gaze
here i stand
 17

Stephany Jean

Temptation
Comment [S29]: A consistent theme
For Regie Gibson regarding Gibson’s formatting text, is
how he breaks up the fluidity of specific
lines. The large space gaps in the text
represent a dramatic pause that would be
present during a performance. Gibson
listen to her rhythm writes his poetry in a specific way so that
readers are forced to take a second
she walks with swayed hips glance. The awkward spacing initially
seem to be without purpose. The format
temp ting folks that cross her path illuminates the story behind the given
text. “Listen ” causes the reader to
stop, slow down, and be attentive. In
actuality, the awkward spacing assists the
her voice overall meaning of the poem. The reader
attempts to consider how Gibson would
seductive and slow actually perform his poetry as it is being
read.
lures the streets into her grasp
Comment [S30]: Gibson’s childhood
was constantly revolving around some
sort of tempo or beat. His influences from
but wait Jazz music is apparent within the text. In
past correspondences he speaks about
how he “loved to experiment
with nonsensical words and sing them to
a moment familiar melodies”. Jazz allows Gibson to
go beyond the standards of a typical
slowly reaches its demise Comment [S31]: Gibson could be
considered to be a sensual writer. In his
collection of poems the speaker indirectly
talks about sexual encounters between the
and you think characters present. As a result, the
audience wonders why Gibson does not
come right out with it. On the other hand,
his indirectness adds an element of
about surprise to the overall meaning.
Comment [S32]: A female is usually
a character within Gibson’s poetry. The
this woman skilled vixen speaker indirectly describes her
tendencies. In this case “she” represents a
a woman of this caliber women from the past. Her entire
demeanor is extracted within the poem.
Comment [S33]: The juxtaposition of
the before and after of a situation remains
be careful not coy present. The alluring depiction of the
women in the previous lines quickly
beware her temptress gaze diminishes. I tried to mimic the effect of
starting off with something positive and
here i stand having it merge into a negative
connotation.
Comment [SJ34]: This final segment
of the poem represents Gibson’s
realization. He will no longer be a fool to
her tempting behaviors because he knows
better from his past. With those three
words the author seems to finally have
closure.