Stephanie Arwen Lynch

Sittin´ on Nana´s front porch
white rocking chairs, a bowl
shellin´ purple-hull peas
she´s full of tall tales
of being a black child
in a white man´s world.
takes a sip from the bottle
smilin´ ´bout how now
Coke doesn´t taste the same;
then she laughs at me
"Child, watch the details"
and picks a pod out of the peas
she gets kinda quiet
eyes caught by the distance
takes a drag off her smoke
"you know my mama´s mama
done bought this land
her owner said it was hers
but like most men like that
the details contain the truth
´cause what he meant to say
was the land was his
lawd lawd lawd his suprise
when mama pulled out the cash
said she and her kin meant
to grow greens and peas here"

Sittin´ on Nana´s front porch
shellin´ peas washing kale
wishin I hadn´t been born
to the enemy of her folk
she reaches down to pat me
laughing through her cigarette
"Child, it´s all just details.
cause you know I love you
just like you love me"
she rocked back in that old chair
eyes caught by the distance
murmuring soft and low just for me
"Child, it´s all just details."