Knowing where you've come from

Shine that light
Shine it out proud
I chime daily and daily
checking my own bushel for a light hidden
underneath it
Hear my words
lodge them in your heart
Carry them along, decades from here
I know they'll sink in
like soft weights, anchors, oh soul
or pointed barbs if I've not gone careful
but sink they will
And on the day
you say them in the heat of a moment
The hooks are in good
I'll know my job was done
It's only when we spout out to our own
that we know something for sure
That we know who we are
where we've come from
"You've come a long way, Bethy Lee."

BL
9/22/13

This one's for my Nanny - great-grandmother Annie Mae Harrell - who loved me a long time, lodged some simple words in my heart, and fed me up with soul food of the original kind. I know where I came from Nanny, and you're right - it was a long way. :)