I Know

I know the world will not slow down No matter how fiercely I stretch my fists to the sun I know how to pray I know I am always praying No matter my physical position No matter the words you think you hear I am always in conversation with Spirit We converse like two old women On a Mississippi wooden porch Chipped paint Head scarves Sweet tea Dogs barking at strangers Flies at our feet I know God like that Don't you I will take my last breath one day This is not an if Before I do I wanna tell these stories So shut up in my bones I drag around like wet towels sopping up Tears my grandmother's mother's mother passed down Stories that come to me in the night from folks I don't know Ain't got nothing to do with me Except they know I know how to get a prayer through And a story straight I don't know everything But I know that getting back to the basics Is the best business at hand I know we are nothing without each other What does it matter all this good I have If heavy on your mind so muddy You can't inhale longer than you blink What good are fancy dresses And red bottom shoes If they 'bout to cut off her father's feet I know sometimes the clouds get low I know there are days I feel stuck in a mass of Sadness and fear and anxiety sudoku my brain so math I forget the numbers to dial But I know how to reach I know how to be still I know how to rock and sing I know how to cry I know how to remember how good God's been to me I know how to wave hand I know how to give thanks I know how to close eyes I know how to know that clouds pass I know ain't none of this easy So I know how to give you me When clouds come to you I know therapy sessions should be held at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles Over grits and eggs Prayed over by a greasy hand man with a handkerchief In his pocket I know that I know food ain't free But I know how to cut mine in four So we can all eat I know it's up to me I know it's up to you I know I am learning how to forgive I know that forgiveness does not mean Stories won't rise But I know how to let them out Same one by one way they got in there I know that I am wonderful I know that I forget how wonderful I am I know how to remember the next time I do I know to open my eyes And look right into you