aplus
04-08-2005, 01:03 PM
http://slumz.boxden.com/showthread.php?t=62869
Hate it or love it, but let me know what you think - A+
Mama
Sometimes you used to hit me so hard with reality
When I was content to live with the half-truths of life
You taught me how to walk proud, absorb knowledge, and keep my mouth shut
Tough lessons for a young boy masquerading as a grown man
You could wield the belt of discipline in a tough, resilient manner
And trust me, I know because I was hardheaded. Did I inherit that from you?
You never allowed my stomach to be hungry, and I long for those childhood evenings
After work, you put in overtime with no pay in front of the stove
The aromas you created with culinary masterpieces
Ham, collard greens, cornbread, pies, and black-eyed peas
Scents float in the heavy air, luring me into the kitchen, with the oven warm
Sometimes I would steal a bite or three when you were not looking
And you never caught me. But you probably saw me.
At times, you were the fragile tape that held my father and I together
When he was filled with vintage stubbornness and I had the will of a headstrong teenager
I rarely heard you complain. And I listened, even when you thought I didn’t.
Your smile still warms my heart even when chilled winds gust outside
You never judged me, even when I came home from college
With my ears pierced, new muscles, and head full of fresh ideas and attitude
Dad rolled his eyes, and I honestly don’t blame him
But you tried to understand me, you knew I was evolving.
Even now you still listen to me, my dreams, my nightmares, my hopes, my fears
Over warm batches of oatmeal cookies, fresh baked minutes before my visit
We talk during competitive games of Scrabble, projecting voices loud enough to be heard
Over the television, whose volume is set just a touch louder than the last time I came
And we waste the night away, together, the way we should have when I was a child
While the summer sky deepens in gray and becomes spangled with fireflies
More strength and attitude than Angela Davis, more style and elegance than Vanessa Williams
I have never seen you dress down a day in my life
You are dressed up even when you don your nightclothes
Wearing the jeans someone bought once for Christmas, you looked ready for a board meeting.
I learned how to hold and present myself to the world from your example
I follow your blueprint to this day
Countless lessons, not the chalkboard and textbook kind
Were conveyed by your actions and words
And although I am farther away, busier, and my phone calls are less frequent – I do apologize
I still hold you in my heart everyday; there is no distance in love and faith
I respect you, I cherish you, and I understand the things you were trying to tell me back then.
I just wish I could get what your lectures are teaching me right now.
One day I will catch up to your syllabus, I promise.
Know that you are always in my heart.
My manhood should continue as a prized recipe for success
The perfect ingredient stirred in with my father’s unquenchable fire and discipline
Was your heart, integrity, compassion, and unconditional love. Thank you.
Hate it or love it, but let me know what you think - A+
Mama
Sometimes you used to hit me so hard with reality
When I was content to live with the half-truths of life
You taught me how to walk proud, absorb knowledge, and keep my mouth shut
Tough lessons for a young boy masquerading as a grown man
You could wield the belt of discipline in a tough, resilient manner
And trust me, I know because I was hardheaded. Did I inherit that from you?
You never allowed my stomach to be hungry, and I long for those childhood evenings
After work, you put in overtime with no pay in front of the stove
The aromas you created with culinary masterpieces
Ham, collard greens, cornbread, pies, and black-eyed peas
Scents float in the heavy air, luring me into the kitchen, with the oven warm
Sometimes I would steal a bite or three when you were not looking
And you never caught me. But you probably saw me.
At times, you were the fragile tape that held my father and I together
When he was filled with vintage stubbornness and I had the will of a headstrong teenager
I rarely heard you complain. And I listened, even when you thought I didn’t.
Your smile still warms my heart even when chilled winds gust outside
You never judged me, even when I came home from college
With my ears pierced, new muscles, and head full of fresh ideas and attitude
Dad rolled his eyes, and I honestly don’t blame him
But you tried to understand me, you knew I was evolving.
Even now you still listen to me, my dreams, my nightmares, my hopes, my fears
Over warm batches of oatmeal cookies, fresh baked minutes before my visit
We talk during competitive games of Scrabble, projecting voices loud enough to be heard
Over the television, whose volume is set just a touch louder than the last time I came
And we waste the night away, together, the way we should have when I was a child
While the summer sky deepens in gray and becomes spangled with fireflies
More strength and attitude than Angela Davis, more style and elegance than Vanessa Williams
I have never seen you dress down a day in my life
You are dressed up even when you don your nightclothes
Wearing the jeans someone bought once for Christmas, you looked ready for a board meeting.
I learned how to hold and present myself to the world from your example
I follow your blueprint to this day
Countless lessons, not the chalkboard and textbook kind
Were conveyed by your actions and words
And although I am farther away, busier, and my phone calls are less frequent – I do apologize
I still hold you in my heart everyday; there is no distance in love and faith
I respect you, I cherish you, and I understand the things you were trying to tell me back then.
I just wish I could get what your lectures are teaching me right now.
One day I will catch up to your syllabus, I promise.
Know that you are always in my heart.
My manhood should continue as a prized recipe for success
The perfect ingredient stirred in with my father’s unquenchable fire and discipline
Was your heart, integrity, compassion, and unconditional love. Thank you.