Plots of Land
A Poem
I’d lay on my back
Staring up to …
Infinity I thought it was
That’s how much I knew
Detroit city
Smokestacks and smog
Guns shots and grey days
They said I belonged
The trees above my graves intertwine
Through years of history, some of it mine
My gram bought these plots
Smart planning, they told her
When they sold her the deed and
All the rest that she’d need
She’s finally here, took her time and some years
The only thing she’d ever own
Got for herself
Her forever home
I laid here then, and I lay here now
Eyes on the sky, the branches, the bough
One day my body will rot in this spot
A part of the land, with her in this plot
But this wasn’t my wish, my ask, or my dream
It was a plan that was given to me
When I was a girl born unwanted and poor
Nobody thought I’d end up worth more
But I never asked for a spot to be tethered,
I envy the birds, free-flying and feathered
So perhaps I’ll be ash — just throw me up high
Let my soul go and see if I fly
And if I don’t, perhaps I will be
Born again in a nest egg
At the top of this tree
