Nenny Song

My grandma buys a scratch-off ticket weekly From the convenience store down by the family dollar They put in a Starbucks but she likes one-dollar coffee Hoping one day they slip a miracle across the counter Her alter is an armchair with HGTV Where stainless steel can make anything new She isn't afraid to tell me what she thinks is tacky But she gets afraid sometimes Doesn't leave the house for week or two She tells me on the phone "I don't have hobbies I just love you babies and I watch my shows So promise me you're careful down in Philly I think of you with the evening news And with my eyes closed" I take her to grocery stores on Tuesdays Cause she doesn't like the crowds and I don't mind the drive We wander the aisles comparing unit prices She taught me to swim and love and bargain hunt and survive Thumbing through the albums with their tea stains She says I was the life of the party, Cactus Tree wild The chemo took my good hair and my hearing But you sing good enough for both of us Play me something I haven't heard in a while She's self conscious in public Like she's in the way And she's really worried about the kids in school are learning today She seems girlish to me, it's the look that's on her face What's more girlish than wondering if you take up too much space? (ooo) She gets afraid sometimes