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