Magnolia Literacy Project Spotlight: Lana Brown Series
In "Home Coming", Poet Lana Brown, a native of historic Natchez, MS, recounts events and experiences which connect a group of hometown comrades and classmates preparing for a milestone reunion.
Brown is a graduate of Alcorn State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Communications; a Master of Arts in Secondary English Education; and a Master of Arts in Early Childhood Education with a Concentration in Reading and Gifted Education. She also holds a Specialist in Education degree in Psychometry from Jackson State University. An instructor in gifted education with the Natchez Adams School District, Brown was selected by the Mississippi Department of Education to be a member of the ELA/Literacy High Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM) Review Team in the fall of 2020.
"Home Coming"
To that place that holds the key to our heart
our tender spot
Cuz that’s where our ingredients were gathered
And mixed all together
Bringing forth a human being who
Connects two magnificent tribes
The best of two worlds
A bountiful prize,
A gift that keeps giving
A blessing for all to behold
Like that very last piece of the puzzle,
Making the picture whole
Creating a complete profile
Home-made recipe
Crafted the old fashioned way
With….a good dose of reality checks
Swats on the hind side
Face slaps
Smack downs
Skillet and pot tossings
Heel/houseslipper Lobs
Stand offs
Calling on the Uncle who had no other name
Until the pain stops
Though never wanting to admit defeat
Not knowing how
Despite the many lessons on the statistics of winning
for a person of our hue
Took all the tests to be first class
Yet the bar continues to rise
‘Til it’s insurmountable
In this peculiar place
Situated along the MS River
Gotta have a special kind of spirit to dwell
Need a heart of a warrior
Who only accepts winning as the outcome
The skin of a crocodile
So that no daggers can penetrate,
covering for the scars from previous battles
For weakness is defeat
The eyes of an eagle who soars high
Yet senses the tiniest of movement
that might create an opportunity
The reflexes of a cheetah
who’s always prepared to spring into action,
outsmarting his prey
Instinctively knowing that failure to pounce
Means Purgatory
A death sentence in this place
If lacking in determination,
Quicksand
That brings you to an abysmal place
Isolated, repelling change
Like a penny in a piggy bank
Although there’s plenty
They don’t add up to much
Still a just one penny
One more than zero
Not wanting to be spent, or exchanged, or polished up
Satisfied with lack of self-worth
And lack of initiative
The mindset of many natives…
“It’s a bad gamble to move away.”
“Cindy Lou went to Miami and lost her house;
She been sleeping on the street 2 years.”
Of all the people in the world, we could possibly grow up to be, why does it have to be Cindy Lou?
Gotta have grit
The kind that creates an unbreakable bond
An impenetrable barrier
Producing a Ram in the Bush
No matter the plan
The outcome is ALWAYS in our favor
A backup plan prompted by a history of disappointment
Like playing pinball
Pull that trigger
The path is sure to be uncertain
Causing the mind to acclimate to change
Not an easy task
For accepting change, a bitter fruit
Like a ram,
We pushed through
Exerting great power,
strengthened by the many heroes before us
Leading the way
Protecting their legacy like precious jewels
That never lost their luster
Because we handled it with great care
With kid gloves
Spreading like dandelions at the coming of spring
Drifting out effortlessly to every climate, time zone
Evergreens, gold & green to be exact
Rewarding other cultures with our unique and eccentric culture
As historians for this place
And each have their own story to tell
Memories that fall like rain…
Sometimes like a drizzle
A quick de ja vu flash from the past
Other times, like a downpour
A lingering memory that overcasts for days
Sometimes, like a storm with lightning and thunder
A jarring bolt that gets undivided attention
On rare occasions, just gathering all the clouds up in one place and just look real ugly
Then don’t drop a drip
A Mute cry for help
Not being heard because of our storm
That Disrupts life
Causing a step back to do inventory
Those memories that teach life lessons
Those that jarred us into reality
Serving as signals of upcoming turmoil
Foreshadowing conflict
We all have stories to tell of this place
The cast from which we were molded
In Natchez, MS
Known in many places because of scattered seeds
Fruit produced with the loveliest of hands
And molded and preserved to overcome challenges
Because we stand in front of Mountainous People
Giants who are yet watching
Armed with great legends about….
Survival
Protected by praying women who dropped to their knees
At any good time
Stopping everything to pray
Ignoring this command
Resulted in perhaps,
a hastily shoved face in your oatmeal
Among a village who knows everything about you
And your ingredients
A trip back down Memory Lane
To keep you mindful of humble beginnings
Memories that like sweet, juicy, overripe figs
Leaking its slurpy dew from the limbs
Slow and steady
Taking its sweet time to wither away to nothingness
Having innate knowledge that life is a process
So, why be in a hurry to do anything?
Each step creating the next one
There’s plenty of time to create a masterpiece
Time always tells the future
Rocking chairs on porches with so much to tell
Wisdom overflowing everywhere
A griot, ready to teach a lesson
Bout that Devil’s Punchbowl
Not being a delicious treat
Looking like a giant toilet bowl
Slippery slopes
Escaping, not an option
But We got out
And live to talk about it
For those devious, hateful, despicable plans
Created a Number One Contender
In ANY arena
Weeping willows bent low with horrible tales to weave
Hanging moss indicating mourning
“Oh, the sights I’ve seen.”
Old adage still reigns among us, Natchezians
“Hear no evil; speak no evil.”
That’s what a good son does
He’s the keeper of the secrets
Not everyone is privy to this knowledge
Consider yourself Blessed,
A Fellow Natchezian & classmate
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