Box by Cheri Raley Phillips
Ain't no problem here. Hear?
Living in dis here box
gives me some comfort.
Dis da home I love,
Show fits my behind,
Fits me like a cardboard glove.
De man come trying ah take it
Away,
If he can.....
Dat be a mean 'ole man.
Easy nuff ta git a new one
Fo me,
at dat downtown
Moving company.
Dey be boxes all over
Dat place.
I pinch one fo me, maybe two.
Keep one fo me,
Sells one to you.
Dey gots blankets in dem trucks,
sometimes dey forgets to
Lock dem suckers up.
Ain't no problem here. Hear?
Sun rains down on me
All day long.
I sings mah song,
Cool breezes lay me down to sleep.
Only one person bothers me,
Dat be da man.
He wanna make me into a sheep.
"Move along, git along." He say.
So I do dat, fo 'bout a minute.
I takes my box wit me,
Circle dat block two times
And see da man on de flipside,
Like a snail wit ma home on my back.
'Fore dat sun came up
All shiny and bright
I bees lucky I gots some sleep dat night,
But I show ain't alone.
See, da man, he be too busy fo me.
Cain't hold me long nohow.
I's too expensive fo him.
Don't play by his rules nohow.
Ma life ain't so grim.
I gots frinds in low places,
Like dat song says.
What de man do fo me
but put me in a bigger box?
A painted box.
The kinda box he likes
Keeps me da prisoner,
While he be ma inquisitioner,
All nosey up in ma face,
Telling me 'bout some better
Place
Places I don't wanna be.
Nope. No, no. No, not me.
Cain't do what I want noway,
Living in dat man's box,
Trapped in dere like some wild Fox.
Dat sure ain't no life fo me.
So I be poe, at least I's free.
Ma daddy useta ride de rail.
No one threw his ass in jail.
Dat was just some different day.
Now nobody wanna see yo face,
Honey.
They show hates it when
Yo asks fo money.
Today, child, you just cain't barter.
Seems life just keeps gitten harder
And harder.
Weren't dat bad fo ma father.
Too bad I hadda be his daughter.
Poe is poe, dats what deh says.
Since I's been ten, I ain't slept in no bed.
Some says I ain't right in dah head.
But they ain't no problem here. Hear?