She looks so weary
sitting in her favorite chair
right where my daddy used to watch T.V,,
laying his head on the stairs.
I follow her gaze to old photographs
of my brothers and I.
I know that memories can't lie,
but it's been so long
the color in the photographs is starting to cry.
She sighs
and touches her aching knees,
oh my goodness, she's darn near seventy.
Still, she gets up for work
never missing a day.
I ask her if she needs anything,
she says, "No son, only what the Lord can bring."
"He hears my prayers."
and then she takes a long. hard look at the stairs.
She speaks to my daddy
with love in her tone,
saying, "Foolish man, why do you answer the phone?"
"Can't nobdody understand the gibberish you speak."
My daddy shoots her a kiss my butt look,
you know the kind that can't be mistook,
and by the time I finish this paragraph
we are all sharing a laugh.
I grew up hard
that ain't no doubt,
learned the name Jesus Christ in a curse word
and a shout.
I take a look at my momma
smile, and shake my head.
I say to my daddy, "Grogs, you're too stubborn to die."
My daddy smiles like he's sayin',
"Boy, you ain't never lied!"
Then he raises his one good hand to the sky,
as if to say, "God blessed me with your mother,
she's been there for me by and by."
He flashes that old mischievous grin,
mutters something like, "God ain't ready just yet to let me in."
Anyway,
before I die I want to see my sons in the same place.
My tears are salty to my taste,
suddenly my stressful day is lost without a trace.
And there my daddy and I sit,
not least bit ashamed to cry,
as my momma says, "My oh my,
you two better dry your eyes."
MY MAMMA PRAYS,
DEAR GOD, HELP US TO FIND A WAY
MY DADDY PRAYS,
I WANT MY SONS TO BE TOGETHER ONE DAY
I CLOSE MY EYES,
AND REACH FOR MY CELL PHONE,
CALL MY TWO BROTHERS AND SAY SOFTLY,
IT'S TIME Y'ALL COME ON HOME.
We were strangers
in a foreign land,
trying to negotiate the ghetto
and deal with life's demands.
Five people, with no one else
in the world,
I had a big sister but she died at 3 years old
with a smile,
her spirit's back on the Bajan isle,
momma always said after she died
daddy wasn't the same,
but God ain't to blame.
I remember momma holding
her bruised hip,
whispering defiantly through puffy lips.
Your daddy and I fight,
but I swear before God on this night,
we always raised y'all right
My brothers walk in
and I reach for hugs,
asking if they want some coffee,
bring back 2 mugs,
then we start to mess around like only brothers can do,
E' says, "Little bro, what's been up with you?"
I say, "Brah, life is hard but you gotta pull through."
Then the three of us sit
and start to reminisce,
my brother Zone says, "Remember when Darrie raised his tiny fist.
Said, power to the people
and
oh, by the way, Santa add a racing set to my Christmas list."
Then we all laugh,
adding joy to this paragraph,
we always looked up to momma,
in her own way she carried a rod and staph.
Coming to America,
scared and all alone,
leaving behind her family
in the days before cell phones.
I take a break from the family fun,
relieved at last,
no longer do I have to run.
Walk into the basement and look at the spot
where I wrote my very first rhyme,
so many memories frozen in time,
so many heart breaks I would find,
but God takes care of babies and fools,
and sho nuff heals the blind
MY MOTHER PRAYS
DEAR GOD
HELP US FIND THE WAY
MY DADDY PRAYS
I WANT TO SEE MY SONS TOGETHER ONE DAY
I CLOSE MY EYES
FINGERING MY CELL PHONE
AND WHISPER, YOU BOTH GOT YOUR WISH
YOUR PRODIGAL SONS HAVE COME BACK HOME
YOU FINALLY GOT YOUR WISH,
THANK GOD WE FOUND OUR WAY
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