MAMA
          (For Rosetta Scott)
Nat King Cole was a merry ole soul
As he sat perched up against 
Mama's ole wooden phonograph next
To Billie Holiday and Roberta Flack,
Killing us Softly every Sunday,
And I knew that one day,
Things were going to be alright,
'Cause something in their voices
Helped Mama make it through the night,
Something in their voices got Mama through
The work week,
It was so powerful it didn't allow Mama to speak,
At night she sat in the living room and closed her eyes
and drifted and away went all the darkness and gloom...
Her thoughts transcended this earth and she forgot that
we were poor.
But she never forgot that we were hungry as a good parent never does
She stood up tall to show us what a good mother she was,
When I get in a rut and start feeling down and lost,
I rewind my thoughts back and peer into that 3 bedroom window
and look at the woman who paid the cost,
For me to continue to hear the music...

Doreen Ambrose-Van Lee