Oh Mama No

All day
One long tethered motion:
Sweep, stir, sow
This is her kingdom
An inheritance that you can’t deny
Oh Mama no, oh Mama no
Oh Mama no I will

Come down, child
From your gates and connections
Sleep, slur, slow
This is where you come from
The anchor that you can’t leave behind
Oh Mama no, oh Mama no
Oh Mama no I will

So Mama learns your tribal lingo
Tolerates the time between calls
Catalogues the years and makes a note of all your endless goings-on
When her sentences start to repeat
And her voice in the night is reaching –
Oh Mama please don’t leave me

And then one day
In the boxes upon boxes:
Grieve, give, go
Maybe you can learn how –
If you never feel the dark, never see the light
Oh Mama no, oh Mama no
Oh Mama no I will
Oh Mama no, oh Mama no
Oh Mama no I will
Oh Mama know, oh Mama know –
Mama you know I will