“Blues Crush” – a poem by Jianqing Zheng

August 5th, 2026

Library of Congress

Mississippi John Hurt, 1964

___

Blues Crush

After John Hurt got his first guitar,
he dubbed her Black Annie—
his first crush under Southern stars.

Each day after picking cotton,
he held her close, anchoring
his right-hand ring and little finger

to her strings, courting a tune.
His gentle fingerpicking uplifted
a soft, conversational voice

endearing even to the crickets.
Some evenings John took a walk
with Annie in the neighborhood,

singing serenades for small tips.
One day inside his shabby shack
he traded “Monday Morning Blues”

for a chance with the OKeh men.
His melody fluttered and landed
like a butterfly on their hearts.

They invited him to Memphis
to cut a record on Valentine’s Day.
This trip became the true harvest

of courting Annie. Since then,
Mississippi John Hurt
became his name tag when he

trod down every rough road
to whisper his quiet blues
into a legend of blues love.

___

Jianqing Zheng’s recent poetry collections include Dreaminations (Madville Publishing, Jan 2026)) and Visual Chords (Broken Tribe Press, 2025). He’s also coeditor of Conversations with Michael S. Harper (University Press of Mississippi, 2026). He has received three poetry fellowships from the Mississippi Arts Commission.

Listen to the 1928 recording of Mississippi John Hurt perform his composition “Morning Morning Blues” [The Orchard]