"Idle delilah" is a chapter of the unpublished Broke With Expensive Taste book by Azealia Banks.
Background[]
Azealia Banks uploaded to her Tumblr account on December 20, 2014 a subsequent post titled: "Idle Delilah (Snippet)".[1] Later, on May 7, 2017, he published the second version of what the chapter would be titled "Idle Deliah v2".[2]
Chapter[]
Delilah was a curious girl much to the dismay of her mother.
Like other little girls she had a fondness of all things feminine and had a special affinity for her mother’s fancy vanity. She spent several hours at the gold-trimmed victorian mirrors applying scented face powders and red lipstick under the care of her Mammy Ms. Maisley. She was the youngest of the Lynch children. Her next sibling, John John, 7 years her senior spent his time playing with the Bush boys leaving Delilah all alone. John John’s summers were full of days playing catch, trapping unfamiliar insects, and fishing near Broken Black river. While Delilah spent most of her days sitting on her family’s front porch idling away playing with imaginary friends, her Jacks, and the collection of dolls she amassed from her father’s travels; she longed to travel into the fields to make friends with some of the Negro children.
Maisley was one of the Lynch family’s eldest and wisest servants, and spent her life raising several generations of Lynch children, including Delilah’s father. Much to Maisley’s surprise, as repayment for her years of loyalty and care, her own son would loose his life to one of the children she spent her lifetime caring for. When Delilah’s father was just becoming a man, barely old enough to herd cattle or control his own horse, he beat and murdered Maisley’s son for accidentally tipping and spilling a bail of cotton. It had been 23 years since Maisley gathered her son’s body from the bottom of the Artubus tree, or spoke her last word. Nowadays, she sat quietly, responding gently to requests made of her, and watching little Delilah when Mrs. Lynch was away from the plantation or otherwise occupied.
Ms. Maisley heard everything and saw even more.
Delilah’s mother Lilith was a compassionate but suspicious woman. Her family was one of the most affluent southern families of the time. They were descendants of the royal crown and since their arrival in the Americas, amassed a fortune trading cotton, sugar cane, tobacco, and slaves for a living. While most madams of similar stature, were full of pride, basking in the glory of their good fortune and prosperity, Lilith remained uneasy and lived with a gnawing fear. Instead of hosting lavish tea and dinner parties to posture for other wealthy families, she kept watch over Delilah; making sure she never wandered off the porch into the fields with their Negro slaves.
Lilith also knew that people hated her husband as much as they loved her husband.
She knew the stories of her family’s wealth and the torture many slaves endured at the hands of her husband Luther Luciferian Lynch traveled far and wide across the south, patronizing the fears of slaves and antagonizing the wealth and egos of other plantation owners who’s fortunes paled in comparison to the Lynch family’s riches.
Luther Luciferian Lynch was as famous as he was rich. He was a famous writer and speaker who gave spirited instruction to other slave owners who aspired to be as wealthy as he, and who wanted to control unruly slaves.
Luther was as smart as he was destructive, but had no idea that the instruction his letters provided, would survive for thousands of years, lending direction long after he and his children’s children returned to the earth, on how to mangle and control the minds of countless generations of his slaves’s children’s children children.
Luther was a cruel man but he adored Delilah. He loved her more than any of his other children and Delilah loved him dearly. “Idle Delilah” is what he called her because whenever he would return from a business trip, he would find Delilah sitting absolutely still, waiting for him on the family’s porch. Upon return from his business trips, Luther looked forward to the first glimpses of Delilah’s two red bows, beautiful round face, peachy cheeks, and trusting eyes when she would hear his carriage approaching the plantation’s pebbled dirt road. Delilah knew whenever “poppa” would return from a trip, he would bring new toys, exciting stories, and other treats just for her.
It was only when Lilith recognized Lucifer’s blistery, red, sweaty skin which had been permanently burned from his long carriage trips under the hot southern sun, would she relax her watch over Delilah and permit her to run down the porch steps to greet him.
“Poppa!” Delilah would delightfully greet Luther. In his southern redneck drawl, Luther would return Delilah’s warm greeting with a big hug and “What has my Idle Delilah been up to since I’ve been gone?” and immediately present his precious little girl with a new gift he had picked out especially for her. As he carried his Delilah back to the house, the trail of affectionate chatter between Lucifer and his “Idle Delilah” would stir a sense of resentment in the Negros toiling the fields. Too afraid to show signs of their loathing, each slave would quietly bow their heads and return their focus to picking, plowing, digging, and slowly dying in the Lynch fields. Despite their efforts to conceal their feelings, Lilith knew the Negros hated Lucifer as much as they feared Lucifer. And as much as she enjoyed the comfort and luxuries that their sacrifices granted, she felt dreadful about their suffering; but was very afraid that her husband’s bestial nature would turn on her, if she ever said a word. So as routine would have it, she quietly sympathized, bowed her head and gracefully moved into the interior of the great house.
Much to her dismay, Lilith knew that Delilah was curious. For Delilah possessed a curiosity that transcended all reason, fear, and furtive warnings from her, about the dangers of journeying off and mingling with the Negros who she knew loathed Luther so much. Ignoring her mother’s warning it was a daily occurrence, that Lilith would find Delilah behind the Negro quarters playing Jacks with Othea, a small Negro girl who befriended Delilah, and Delilah’s only friend.
Despite Othea’s mother’s warnings about the dangers of playing with Delilah, Othea would sneak off behind her shack to play with Delilah before she would be caught by Mrs. Lynch.
One day Othea’s luck had run out when she was caught playing with little Delilah by Mr. Lynch instead of the Mrs. Lynch. After chasing Othea into the fields and around the Arbutus tree that stood watch over the plantation, Mr. Lynch cornered Othea against the Arbutus and began delivering powerful kicks, punches, and lashes to her frail adolescent body, as her mother stood crippled by fear, too afraid to make a sound, or any attempt to help her suffering daughter. Othea’s mother knew that if she moved or made a sound, Mr. Lynch’s wrath would instantly turn on her, or force the life out of Othea’s bleeding body.
Othea’s mother remained absolutely still starring past her little girl into the dense vegetation that surrounded the arbutus tree, feeling ashamed and defeated, until she heard the door slam to Mr. Lynch’s home, before quickly moving in to lift Othea’s body from the bottom of the Arbutus tree.
As much as Luther Luciferian knew that he was loved, he knew that he was hated.
And as much as Lilith missed Lucifer when he was traveling, she loved it when he was home. And as cruel as he was arrogant, Lucifer lived without fear. Lucifer knew that he had built up quite a dangerous reputation and never worried about being disobeyed by anyone, lest they suffer the violent consequences. It was Luther’s careless arrogance, and Lilith’s excitement to have him home, after his recent travels which left them both distracted one summer afternoon. It was late in the afternoon after all the slaves had retired for the day, and the sun began its descent towards the east, when Delilah moved past the kitchen and out the back door without a trace. Maisley spotted Delilah as she hastily moved past her cabin and then the Arbutus tree, but said nothing. Maisley watched Delilah continue until the back of her frilly powder white dress disappeared into the dense dark forrest behind the Lynch property.
After inspecting the slave quarters and questioning each black face about Delilah’s whereabouts, Luther returned to the great house to the twisted crimson face of the woman he loved almost as much as Delilah.
It was the first time that Lilith ever challenged Luther. Her words were gentle but full of contempt towards the man she loved so much until then, when she found her disgust united with the others who hated Luther as much as they admired him. Her usually calm and gentle demeanor was now colored with rage and hatred towards Luther, and the reputation he worked so hard to build, as she quietly said “Luther people hate you as much as they you fear you. And I hate myself as much as I hate you now. You did this. You did this to our little girl. You’re always so sure. What are we to do now?” Unsure of what to do…Luther now stood powerless and face to face with someone who hated him as much as he loved Delilah.
It had been three days since the last time anyone saw Delilah when two of the Moby boys, who were known for their affinity for whisky and futile wandering spotted something at the crossroads ahead of them. Each day, after too much whisky, Paul and Clifford would journey onto the back roads in search of something that they never found; or would ever be sober enough to know exactly what they were looking for.
But this day was different. Up ahead on the dusty road they could make out a small crumpled white figure perched against a fence mere steps from the crossroad.
Unsure of what they discovered ahead, they quickly moved in closer.
Paul, the taller of the two brothers grabbed a rickety tree branch and began poking and prodding the object. Pliable and sticky the small shape emitted a nauseating odor of burnt flesh and tar, and was covered in white feathers. After several pokes and then rolling the object on its side, the identity of a small body was revealed.
“What the hell is that?” Clifford demanded.
Startled by the gruesomeness of the lifeless body, Clifford became instantly sober, jumping and falling backwards into the middle of the dusty road.
“Holy shit Paul! Do you think that could be the Lynch kid?” Clifford asked.
Realizing his brother was too disheveled to speak, Paul roughly dragged his brother to his feet and insisted they run to get help.
Since Delilah disappeared, both Mr. and Mrs. Lynch kept watch from their porch in hopes that news of Delilah’s whereabout would soon arrive, and Delilah would be returned home safely.
Lilith Lynch knew that people hated her husband as much as they loved her husband. And when Paul and Clifford came scampering up the road out of breath, she knew that they did not have good news.
Luther Luciferian Lynch knew that people feared him as much as they hated him and still refused to believe that anyone would dare do anything to his Delilah. However, when Paul removed his hat, bowed his head and said “Mr. Lynch, I think you need to see this” he now believed otherwise and followed Paul and Clifford to the spot where they’d discovered the mocked and lifeless child’s body.
Since Lilith knew that people hated her husband as much as they loved her husband, she followed behind slowly, carrying a soft white cotton blanket that she would use to carry Delilah home.
By the time Lilith met Lucifer in the middle of the road Delilah’s whereabouts were no longer a mystery. The beautiful round face and trusting eyes that were once full of life, was now replaced by a charred indistinguishable shape that had been singed, tarred, and covered with feathers. Lucifer had already cradled and lifted Delilah’s folded body, and now offered it to Lilith who wrapped her in the soft white cotton blanket.
Lucifer and Lilith walked quietly until they were out of Paul and Clifford’s sight.
Maisley who always kept watch from the porch when Mrs. Lynch was a away was the first to see Mr. and Mrs. Lynch carrying Delilah past the Artubus tree, then past her shack, and then through the back door until they were out of sight with Idle Delilah.