Soul Food

Sunday dinners were always top notch, whether it was dinner cooked by mama or the church,

from South Jersey, but the women in the kitchen cooked like they were from the dirty south,

food only for your soul, not just to enjoy the taste in your mouth,

the well seasoned cabbage & sautéed collard greens, butter-baked cornbread/biscuits, hand stirred mashed potatoes, fried chicken,

for us,

the food brought the family together, no matter the weather, it help us stay together,

problems were discussed at the dinner table, families reminiscing fun & awful memories,

lessons on family heroes,

better not interrupt if your a kid, don’t get smacked in the mouth,

my mom was like Maxine, even though the youngest, she helped hold the family down, one of Our matriarchs,

Aunt Cheryl was like Aunt Teri she was the most successful in the family & helped everyone with their finances,

Uncle Doug & the other brothers was the protectors, teaching us the honorable code,

lessons like never fold, be a man, hold your own, stand by your word,

these were the ones that rose from poor,

now that the matriarchs are gone, the family isn’t the same,

no one there to mediate the problems away,

now we’re in different sectors, hopefully pretty soon, we’ll bridge the grabs,

stop acting fake,

just speaking from Brandon’s point of view,

cause I know what it’s like to have SOUL FOOD,

even on those rainy days