It's What They Say...

I often tell people that my mama raised me, they say, ‘Of course, she’s your mama!”
I tell them, ‘Oh no, it’s more than that, not just food, clothing, shelter and teaching me how to tie my shoes, she really raised me, with common sense lessons.’
I’m telling you my mama poured common sense down on me like holy water,
Made sure I was soaking, dripping wet with it,
Much of it I didn’t get until years, even decades later but I got it and it serves me well,
One of her simplest and most poignant messages was, “Listen to what they say when they are talking about others.”
When she said that to me, it didn’t make a bit of sense,
Not one bit,
However, it all came to pass,
Over the years I discovered what she meant,
It didn’t take too long to figure out that when folks put down someone from different races, I knew,
It wouldn’t take too much to interject my race in there if I weren’t in the room,
Or if a man talked about women fast and loose,
Or skinny people put down well, less skinny people,
Well you see where I’m going,
I have learned the same thing as a writer, especially a writer, who has chosen to publish her own work,
I keep my mouth closed and my ears peeled,
And without fail,
The truth will be spoken, many times in the guise of talking about ‘those writers’…
What is so amazing to me is how much people will say when you say nothing,
I guess that’s how the slaves learned so much,
They would serve the food,
Not saying a word,
But soaking up all that was said,
Not forgetting anything,
Formulating a plan,
Who Knew?
That’s why I tell folks to be careful what they say and do in front of their children,
Because the lessons that they keep aren’t necessarily the ones you are trying to teach,
But the ones they get when they are listening and looking,
Quietly…


Blessings,
angelia