Wings

Ma mère n'a jamais eu des ailes
my momma never had wings,
but she could tap dance on hurricanes
and play poker with death.
She couldn't teach me how to be a good man,
but she taught me how to be a good human being,
how to, stand up straight, walk tall, face forward,
be proud of who you are, ain't much God left in this world
but treat the world like there's still plenty God left in you.

My momma never had wings,
but she, she always fought to soar in any atmosphere.
You would think that she was Shiva,
the way she would juggle her six kids, two jobs,
a home, the glory of her crown,
the abusive scars of an ex-husband,
without ever skipping a beat,
but you know strong women have a
supernatural way of doing these things.
She said that the secret to her strength
was giving her jigsaw puzzle of a heart to God,
the only being that's ever taken the time
in appreciating all of its pieces.

Ma mère n'a jamais eu des ailes
my momma never had wings,
but she, she always had this global warming of a smile.
Told me to only love a woman
that could melt the polar ice caps of your past.
She sat me down one day y'all, and said:
"Now, eh, eh, you betta' treat a woman like you would treat me,
because if you don't, I will be on the next plane
to slap you back into this country!
You are a Cameroonian man,
you are a Cameroonian man,
we do not do that shit."
Now, what I grasped most about that statement y'all,
was the fact that my mother just said "shit."
But then, but then she continues:
"Beware of the tempting ballad of jazzy bells
with tuba lips, trombone legs,
and a bass line that could turn any man into a crooked song.
And make sure, to not sleep with no one else's bones
but your own."

My momma never had wings,
she said if you tried too hard to reach for the sun,
you will only end up in flames,
do not be a handsome shadow of Icarus son,
learn how to stay grounded son,
teach trees about their roots,
and never give the world your tears,
only smiles, gift wrapped in forgiveness,
cuz mamma said y'all, mamma said
that a hater is just a person with their heart all jumbled up
because their self worth and confidence
is drowning in a sea of assimilation
that makes the oceans in their chest
nothing but puddles of insecurities
because, those that show you no love
are usually the ones who need to see it the most.

Ma mère n'a jamais eu des ailes
my momma never had wings y'all,
but dammit she could still fly, you know?
She could care less about gravity
when she can bend space and time between her fingertips.
She wears the fabric of the universe like her second skin
her first, being her will to always survive.