Latanisha

Back in '78 in the
month of the lions roar
my mama gives birth

beautiful is my sister
as I watch at the door
as a new life enters this earth

small and fragile
loud as she screams
still the voice of victory

It's just her way
to announce today
that she's the new kid on the scene

doctor checks her
nurse cleans her
we adore her as siblings do.

even though in a snap
after burping and cradle cap
she'll get on our nerves too.

so after a few days
mama and Latanisha leave
to finally rest at home

we can't put her down
and mama keeps this frown
cause we're spoiling the baby to the bone

and just like we said
attention went to her head
after a year we have our hellion

still a child in our eyes
so innocence never dies
regardless of all the rebellion

one day while in class
my teacher gives me a hall pass
sent me to the office for a call

in the phone my mom screams
and nothing could have prepared me
said the baby was kidnapped at the mall

they rush me and my brother home
so my mom won't be alone
and maybe we'll ease the pain somehow

but her tears we didn't see
and that confused my brother and me
but we still wiped the sweat from her brow

hours to days
days to weeks
weeks turns months to despair

who could steal a baby
from the bosom of security
as if the family didn't care

today she turns three
still not a word from the police
till they said they have different news

said they have a new theory
wanted to explain it more clearly
based on one of Latanisha's shoes

as crazy as it may seem
all evidence points to one thing
a kidnapping had not taken place

the time-line was prime
but forensics reviewed the crime
and this made a turn in the case

then angry mama became
asking what games were they playing
no games, just a fingerprint in blood

after running a few test
and putting that evidence with the rest
looks like the baby was killed in cold-blood

they wanted to search the house
mom tried to put them out
but a warrant gave them access to look

out of our closet they pull this trunk
from it came this terrible funk
so the lock they proceeded to unhook

there in the middle of the room
was our sister in this homemade tomb
they arrested mama on murder 1

nothing could be more horrible
than for your mom to do something this deplorable
a killer worse than Attila the Hun

Courtrooms and trials
excessive tears no smiles
her confession summed it up

Guilty was her plea
didn't even plead insanity
said she had become fed up

she received 15 to life
for killing her baby with a hunting knife
two years later cancer took her too.

now my sister and mom are gone
what seeds could we have sown
trust me we didn't have a clue

We now pray for a day
that Latanisha can say
mama " I forgive you"