i come from saving crickets upstream
countin’ sixty to see how far away the lightning is from home
sunscreen lathered on my back
but shaking my head at the bug spray
they gotta eat too.
i come from my Nana’s black cotton t-shirt
hangin’ on the back of her bathroom door
waitin’ to tuck me in and tell me she loves me more
i come from my Papa’s truck where he taught me to drive
digging homes in dirt roads
and the honeysuckle groves
i come from running under willow trees
that my Papa taught me to plant
swimmin’ through Leander streams
and gettin' caught up with my pine's wind dance
hated sittin' still to brush my hair
so Nana came up with a game
"Shay Mi Mi's" salon to get me to sit in a chair
and i still don't sit still till i hear that name
never needed much
but sure got a lot
more love than i could ever ask for
not goin' long without a hand to wipe my eye's downpour
come in on Friday to spend time with my two best friends
Papa wakin' me with an eggo, double-cooked at 17
Nana sittin' in the floor with her homemade sweet tea
what i’d do
to go back
just once
to a 2009 Saturday
Nana redoing her whole house
things outdated, she say
not as many red apples
but 'round Christmas time she still got a whole village to play
says she needs to buy an airplane
to put me right in it
she gave me my feistiness
that redhead lady
she gave me her courage
and her bravery though everythang
God knew what he was doin' when he made Beverly.
but i could go on and on
about all the love i come from
not enough words to spell out the way in which i’m grateful
so i’ll just tell the bugs
and the crickets upstream
the dirt roads and the pine trees
curiosity never got the best of me
but maybe lightning will
so i’ll just count to sixty
like my Papa told me to do
1
2
3
call my Nana to tell her what i'm up to
and i think i’m safe
as long as i've got their love
i don't think i could ever be afraid.
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