Tenesha The Wordsmith – Peacocks & Other Savage Beasts lyrics

I will only tell the past of the story that belongs to me
The peacock hung out in the park
His feathers spread wide
His plumage bigger than his body
My sister and I admired him from a distance
Richmond, California
The men in front of the corner store always talked too loud
Their hands were always moving
They became a part of our landscape
Their curse words
City sounds
My sister and I dig in the dirt
Looking for worms
Peahens are choosy lovers
Rare gifts
Risky endeavors
Have made her selective
Sometimes
Mama took us to the corner store
She walked us fast past the men
They stared and called to her
Their hands move
Peacocks spread their tails
Blue and green and yellow
Peahens know that ostentatious display is impractical in the wild
Mama moved past them like they were ghosts
She brought us Icees
The big ones
We ate our Icees
The taste of dirt and sugar coating our tongues
Memories, sweet and disgusting
Peacocks shake their tails

[?] becoming a hundred glossy staring eyes
Mama's eyes, glossy and red
My sister and I stared
Her hands outstretched to us
Words moved around us
Forced entry, sneaky men, loiterers, robbery

We hid the words inside ourselves
Until they became sharp ended quills
That etched our mother's truth
On the inside of our chest
The rest is mama's story
She never spoke it
We never lost the aftertaste
Of sugar and dirt