Saturday night,
Mom washed my hair
Deeply conditioned
She wrapped a hot towl
Over my head
and blow dryed my hair
with a comb and a brush
Mom took the time to part my hair
piece by piece she would greese my scalp
section by section she rubbed the greese in
With weak tired hands
Early in the wee hours
of Sunday morning before church
I sat in the hot kitchen
Next to the stove burner
With balls of sweat rolling down my cheek
As Mom took hot comb
From off the burner fire
Held the wooden handle
and pulled the hot comb
through my thick cotton like hair
my thick nappy negro hair
section by section she greesed the hair
before burning each strand straight
Until the ends would flip in the air
like I was born with good hair
Mom would pull my hair back
and comb it into a pony tail
I wore ribbons down south
the ribbon with a bow
part of Mississippi culture
with my white Sunday dress
Black patent leather shoes
and white gloves
I was prepared for church
In preparations to meet God