Momma told me

"give from the heart
but always save a little
for yourself"

it was like poetry from the grave

as if the Lord granted
her the ability to share
these words in the back
of an ancient scrapbook buried
at the bottom
of my worn wooden chest

but no

she knew me

before
I was a teenager
struggling
to erase fingerprints
from the south side shelters
walls where the cement crumbled
from gangbangers and drug addicts


she knew me

before they disappeared to the South
securing family secrets in the old
White Taurus
and strapping down new beginnings
1400 miles away

she knew me

before a sudden death
when unspoken words were heavy laden
in a midnight fog and gust of wind
that told me she was gone
this time
forever.
She knew me always -- Before I even knew myself.

08/19/2013

Author's Note: Hello, folks. Please keep in mind this is rusty, crankling, and the first poem that has come out of the deluge of life in almost three years. :)

Posted on 08/19/2013
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