River Brown

Mother to Daughter

Inspired by Langston Hughes

Texts, phone calls, visits, Daughter, I’ll say
My life hasn’t been a nonstop in first class
There’ve been layovers
And re-directs, detours,
Cancellations,
And crisscrossing the country in
Coach.

But all the time
I’ve loved the cloudscapes

Collecting air miles

Seeing things sharper
But sometimes getting lost
With no one meeting me at the gate.

So, woman, don’t you let up
Don’t let your big heart behind that wing fail
Because the flight’s bumpy and hurts like hell
Don’t you order cocktails or despair
For I’m still flying
I’m still loving clouds and you

And my life hasn’t been a nonstop in first class.