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A Sestina

by Kisha Nicole Foster

supported by
Zachary Hay
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lyrics

his heart, a multi-unit foreclosed house
discipline instilled by his grandmother
memory, a disappointed child
clear window-well, a dim basement, lit stove
his mind puzzles, reads Arab almanac
he gains knowledge to block his flow of tears

white told black man not to cry, dry wet tears
pool them in broken sink that is your house
sweep kitchen dirt floor like your grandmother
he remembers her, with hung almanac
preserves her speech in castor pot on stove
shelters new fears, a sad inner child

when he dreams, he is a forgotten child
when he wakes, his clothes steep from bleach blue tears
nightmares boil on purified copper stove
they snake up the siding of his single house
ears strain to hear the hum of his grandmother
forecasts his today, farmers almanac

black men’s dead bodies, battered almanac
black men’s dead bodies, once a fun brown child
black men’s dead bodies wail for grandmother
black men’s dead bodies, wilted negro tears
black men’s dead bodies yearn to hug their house
black men’ s dead bodies find warmth around stove

in the hood, when it’s cold, we stand over stove
hands cup heat translate almanac
gives directions home, back to the poor house
where there is a muffled mouth, starving child
whose mother works paycheck to pay the tears
mother repeats gait from her grandmother

black man arrested calls his grandmother
she answers, weary, cornbread hot on stove
tells him, she adores him, stifling her rile tears
serenades to him the World almanac
points out the correct way to rear a child
says she will wait for him outside her house

he will drop stone tears, scribe the almanac
miss his grandmother, make love to her stove
show heart to his child, who inherits house

credits

released July 15, 2020
Poem written and performed by : Kisha Nicole Foster
Music Composed and performed by: William Washington
Producer: Candice Hardin

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Fresh By Nature Records Cleveland, Ohio

EST. 2015 FRESH BY NATURE RECORDS is an independent music family based in CLE, OH. We are committed to uplift the Cleveland arts through community education, events and culture.

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