When I was a child
Every time the doors of the church swung open
My knucklehead was there
Not because I wanted to be
Because my mama made me
Mama didn’t go to church no way
She only attended on Easter and Mothers day
Reverend Plow preached a sermon
About chicken and gravy today
His title was substance and evidence
The chicken was the substance
The gravy was the evidence
There once was some chicken
Now the chicken is gone
There’s gravy left in the pan
I think he mentioned some
Cornbread candied yams and collard greens too
I was just a kid sitting in the
Pews chewing bubble gum
Receiving the good news
Kicking off my shoes
Paying attention because I was amused
Patiently waiting to hear who ate the chicken
Perhaps it was God or maybe Jesus?
Reverend Plow never said who did it
I left church disappointed and confused
I went home and asked my mother because I thought she knew
All she did was look at me funny and asked me was I hungry
I bet Reverend Plow ate that chicken
It was his way of confessing
He was the only one who knew about it
Maybe God told him about it
Big mama always said that God talked to his people
I remember wishing that I was Gods people
So that God would tell me…
“WHO ATE THAT CHICKEN�