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I was born ~
on the other side
of the other side
not too far
from the other side
where the train tracks end
d o w n n e a r t h e g u l l y
where the good ole boys
drank moonshine
and cooked possum
G u n s m o k e a n d L i q u o r
tells one
even at an early age
don’t go down there
n i g g e r s
aren’t allowed
as a boy
I would sit
on top of the hill
overlooking
this tragic comedy
of uneducated poor folk
whose circumstance
was far more dire
than my owm
I remember
my mama and I
went into town one day
to do some shopping
at the grocery
there was
this little dirty-faced boy
n o s h o e s . !
wearing
a raggedy colour-faded t-shirt
jeans that had seen better times
s n o t . !
smeared all over his face
standing outside
his face
pressed up against the glass
looking in
at the pastries and candies
m y m o m s a w h i m
on the way out
she handed the little boy
a bag with cookies and candies
the boy was grateful
he said - “Thank you maam”
as we walked away
we heard the little boy
s c r e a m i n g
an adult male
had grabbed the bag from him
and slapped him behind the head
an adult female
I assumed to be his mom
just stood and looked on
she seemed scared
s h e w a s s h a k i n g
she somehow
mustered up the courage
to confront the man
she tried to defend her son ~
her protestations
were met with a slap across the face
she was a woman of slight build
the force of the slap
landed her to the ground
the man is now scolding
the woman and her son
s h e ’ s t r e m b l i n g
cowering in response
to every gesture
the man makes
t h e k i d i s b a w l i n g
not for himself
but for his mama
he holds on to the man’s leg
and savages a bite into it
this seems to enrage the man more
but the lil fella just won’t let go
that lil boy had courage
he was like a lion with fresh kill
he won’t budge
he won’t let go
“You should never take anything from their kind we are not charity”
t h e m a n y e l l s . !
“Dem n i g g e r s think they are better than us, she gave you that to shame us”
“They don’t know their place - but, we gonna fix that . !”
t h e b o y ' s m o t h e r r e p l i e d
"She didn't mean nothing by it the lady was just being nice to a little boy"
She should never have said that
‘cause . .
as soon as the words came out her mouth
B A M . !
she was man-punched square in the jaw
my mama is usually
a very quiet woman
who doesn’t get involved in s h i t
until she gets involved in s h i t
but
I guess this day
she had seen and heard enough
mama walked me to our truck
told me to stay put
she’ll be right back
she took something
out the glove compartment
and left
I soon discovered
it was a Glock 43
she walked up to the guy
smacked him upside the head
with the handle end
of the gun
and dared him
to do something about it
The guy probably ate or drank
a lot of stupid that day
Because he tried to hit my mom
and tried to fight her
so she put a hole in his leg . !
she then called the cops
a n d a w a i t e d t h e i r a r r i v a l
back in the day
mama was a bad girl
she was
g a n g s t a
before there was even such a thing
someone
not to be trifled with
~ There’s a story in the family ~
t h a t g o e s l i k e t h i s
Mama once shot a man
because
he smiled at her
- when asked
why she shot the guy -
Mama said ~
She don’t like dem kinda smiles
and besides
She didn’t shoot the guy
because of the smile
She shot him -
for what he was thinking . . !
© mingoáo - ? - The Writings of Mingoáo Inc. is the exclusive agent, publisher-distributor of the Writings, Designs and Ideas of Mingoáo. No part nor whole of the Work exhibited herein may be copied, transcribed, reproduced, performed, nor, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, not by carrier pigeon, pony express, smoke signal, slingshot, sled dog, not even by alien spacecraft, nor stored by any information storage and/or retrieval system, past, present or future, nor translated, without the expressed written consent of the Owner. ~ By displaying, exhibiting, publishing or presenting this work Privately or Publicly, the Owner in no way percieved or believed , relinquishes his rights to the work partially or entirely - Not to be Copied, Altered, Forwarded, Distributed, Shared, Nor Transferred 29/06/23 19:42:26
