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Discovery [ Excerpt ]

Dee Allen

Patrolling the street
On the Brooklyn beat
Wasn’t enough for
Jerry Tibbs.

The married N.Y.P.D. officer
On some days would shed
His dark blue uniform & wore
The sable one he was
Born with.
Just a man enjoying his spare time,
His busy hands worked a camera.

On Coney Island’s
White sandy beach,
He found her.
A Southern transplant
Curious about her
New Northern home.

His eyes saw
“Model” in her
Straightaway.

His clicking Kodak©
Truly loved her
From the start.

Stance per stance,
Pic per pic,
Tibbs’ work seemed
Ready to be shown.

Then again, he thought
Something had to be
Done about his subject’s
Already movie star looks.

Jerry Tibbs talked her
Into wearing short-cut
Bangs with her long ebony hair.

Cass Carr took her
Picture again and again and they
Sold well in Manhattan nightclubs.
And the shutterbugs
And the barflies
They knew why.

The playful
Pale lady
Many have seen

Cracking a whip like a dom,
Tied with rope like a sub,
Taking a bubble bath in vibrant colour,
Dancing seductively with her partner
A stuffed clown doll in grainy black-&-white,

Splashing happily in water
On Miami Beach shore,
Gracing men’s magazine covers,
Dressed in a leopard print suit
Or her famous black lingerie & nylons—

Men back then wanted to date her.
Women right now want to emulate her.
Bettie Page, Queen Of Curves
Would’ve never
Lived that title

Without being guided in the right direction
By two Black men

Virtually unknown,
Totally unsung.

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