D.Greaves

Well Veresed. Never Rehearsed.

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    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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    • 5 April 2011
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    Thanks for stopping by and visiting my site. I hope you enjoy the poetic works shared here.Please feel free to leave a comment and subscribe. You can also find me on Facebook under Darwin Greaves. While there, stop by and like my fan page. Listed under D.Greaves the Poet.

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  • About D.Greaves

    Thanks for stopping by and visiting my site. I hope you enjoy the poetic works shared here.Please feel free to leave a comment and subscribe. You can also find me on Facebook under Darwin Greaves. While there, stop by and like my fan page. Listed under D.Greaves the Poet.

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