By Leslie Lamar Parker
Composer: Dorian Wallace
When great-grandmother died… When Little Mama, she died.
Great-grandmother died…
So did her Sunday dinners
Packed into Little Mama’s house
I ate macaroni and cheese, and collard greens, yam
Cornbread, potato salad, fried chicken
And as much as I could smuggle
To the kids’ table
When great-grandmother died… When Little Mama, she died.
Great-grandmother dies…
I tried to revive those dinners with my own family
But they unionized and planned a walkout
So we ate dinner separately, our phones streaming Netflix,
Our phones streaming Netflix our phones streaming Netflix…
Until Covid-19
Covid-19
Covid-19
Covid-19
Covid-19
Covid-19
Covid-19
Covid-19
The pandemic forced us to shelter in place
We had our first family dinner together
This is how I’ll choose to remember Covid-19
The virus forced distance between us
But it also made us closer
I won’t recall how unforgiving the virus was to people like me
I won’t talk about how scared I was for my wife, who has severe asthma
If I’m lucky, I won’t have to say goodbye to somebody close to me
Instead, I’ll remember the conversations we had during Sunday dinner
I’ll remember mixing the bitter red wine with sparkling cider
I’ll remember the large piece of prime rib
And I’ll remember the mountain of green beans I had to eat
Before reaching for another piece of meat
I’ll remember the large piece of prime rib
And I’ll remember the mountain of green beans I had to eat
Before reaching for another piece of meat.
Great-grandmother died… When Little Mama, she died.
Great-grandmother died…
Leslie Lamar Parker died on May 11, ’20 after a two week battle with Covid-19
He was 31 years old.
He was 31 years old.
He was 31 years old.