What they did yesterday afternoon

They cuffed mama with 6 drip bags
Switched her bones with cardboard paper
Told her she was too old for hair
I looked at her like a corpse looks at the world
The rhythm in her breath was a song by Bob Marley
No woman no cry
No woman no pain
No woman no you.

I have been crying at a spot
My tears bore a hole near my mothers tomb
She will come alive soon, if I’m consistent
She will give mama her bones
And freedom.

Today, mama’s bones folded again
She hit the ground like a surprise
Screamed like it was her last
The last time she screamed like that
Was in the labor room she bore my father

Now, mama’s prayer is always
Take me
Don’t let me suffer
Take me.

LARDO