Jerry West By West
Either you're slinging crack rock or you got a wicked jump shot- Biggie Smalls
By God, he’s from the West by West of Virginia.
You’re no ball player if you don’t practice in the off-season. Where I come from ball is all we have. I ask my Cleveland scholars who say I’m country, but if you’re from Boone County, you think I’m city, who
is the man on the NBA logo? These city boys don’t know.
My scholars remind me of the boys I played ball with. These city boys different though, they don’t
sleep with basketballs on their pillows, they don’t practice their follow through with an imaginary
ball, they have no concept of, this is our court, you a scrub, you have to earn your right to play here.
Jerry West by West by West,
He’s from the West by West of Virginia,
It’s between Chelyan & I want that
NBA money— pass me the rock,
I want NBA money— pass me the rock
Shot— dribble— pass— shot— dribble— pass,
Shot— Shot. Those city boys don’t know how us country boys do.
Professional sports lead our youth to believe athletics are the only way out.
I want that NBA money. Buy expensive clothes, get my momma a house and get us out of West
Virginia. You a ball player or you just play ball? You’re no ball player if you don’t practice in the off-season. Where I come from hustling is all we have.
Jerry West by West by West,
He’s from the West by West of Virginia.
I want NBA money— pass me the rock,
I want NBA money— pass me the rock
Shot— dribble— pass— shot— dribble— pass,
Shot— Shot. Those city boys don’t know how us country boys do for the rock.
Tuesday Taylor is a story-telling poet. Her variety of voice is created from life experience and interest. Her work is raw, honest and unapologetic. In 2019, she published Tomboy Blues, a poetry collection shared from the perspective of a 14-year-old Urban-Appalachian girl being raised in public housing during the 90’s, at the beginning of the opioid crisis. Her voice throughout the collection is tenuous and triumphant while enduring her family’s heartache: poverty, drug addiction, incarceration, suicide and the life-altering murder of her trans uncle Prudence. You can find more about her at https://imtuesdaytaylor.com.