The Stoop
My mama always said “boy, stay on this stoop.
Ain’t nothing off of these steps, but trouble.
Except for those boys on the corner
Who’ll come to rest in the gutter.
Nothing but girls that are poison
Those girls are fast.
When they walk past this stoop
You turn away as they past.
Yeah, nothing but trouble you’ll find
As soon as you leave this stoop
My little son of mine.”
“Mama” I said. “I have to leave this stoop.
It’s not trouble off of these steps
At least that’s not all that’s there.
It’s a beauty that world holds
I just have to find my share.
It’s the boys on the corner
And the girls, that are fast.
They are past uninspired
While I aspire to pass.
So while you say stay put
Mama, I disagree.
While the stoop is helpful to you
It is a hinderance, to me.”
