MEMPHIS MOURNING

Hey we don't meet unless somebody's gone Front porch packed like a casserole marathon Tear-stained laughs turn to a hymn we hum along Only time we gather we call it a funeral Folded chairs in the yard same old arguments barked Auntie's side-eye sharper than the preacher's remarks Photo albums cracked open dust turns to confessions Whispers bout the will generational depression Cousins swap numbers like we ain't shared the same blood Memphis heat stickier than the mud in the flood Grandma's china shattered but nobody flinched We ain't here for closure just to see who's gone clinched Laughs turn to eulogies same old recipe Dress shoes sinkin' in the cemetery's debris If we ain't cryin' we lyin' through our teeth Reunion's just a funeral with sweet potato pie Hey we don't meet unless somebody's gone Front porch packed like a casserole marathon Tear-stained laughs turn to a hymn we hum along Only time we gather we call it a funeral Uncle Leroy's back with that chrome 38 Same story different grave ain't a thing changed Mama's hands folded tight like the Bible's crease Daddy's ghost in the kitchen still beggin' for peace Kids play tag round the tombstones don't know the weight We trade Sorry for your loss like it's on a dinner plate Memphis don't sleep it just hums a low tune Reunion's just a funeral with a cheaper balloon When the dirt hits the casket that's when the truth cracks Same lies different year can't map the math We circle round the grief like vultures in a rhyme Ask when it ends nobody knows just rewind Hey we don't meet unless somebody's gone Front porch packed casserole marathon