“Every Christmas Eve she wakes up at 5 a.m. to make tamales, and she always saves the first one for me.”
Lupe, I still see the kitchen light
Five in the morning in the quiet cold
Hear what a song sounds like.
“She drove me to hockey practice at 5 a.m. every winter in that old Ford. There was always cocoa in the thermos waiting.”
There was cocoa in the thermos, Mama, every single time
Kept me warm all the way down the line
“She made every costume and my First Communion suit on the sewing machine she brought from Guadalajara.”
That sewing machine from Guadalajara
You carried all that way to start our home
“Every year at Henderson’s farm he picked the crooked one. He said the crooked ones need a home too.”
Said the crooked ones need a home, you know
Yeah, every year we'd take it home with glee
“Our first Christmas we were broke, so she taped string lights on the wall in the shape of a tree.”
We still tape that glow to the wall
Keisha, year after year it shines through
“In 1994 our bike broke down on Route 66 in Arizona, and we slept under the stars.”
Back in ninety-four on Route 66
A shoulder in Arizona we couldn't fix
“She taught every grandbaby to make sweet potato pie, standing on a chair at her counter.”
Teaching every baby how to make that sweet potato pie
Yes, Mae, everything good in this family started at your table
“We met in third grade. She picks up when I call at 3 a.m., every time.”
Way back in third grade
Two desks side by side
“Every Sunday I bring her coffee in the chipped blue mug from our honeymoon in Maine.”
Pouring your sweet heart in the chipped blue mug
Every Sunday morning, the kettle starts to steam
“She kept shouting “Don’t let go!” and I had already let go half a block back.”
You shouted, "Don't let go!"
Down that quiet suburban street
“He kept granola bars in the glove box for me and never once made it a big deal.”
Just granola bars in the glove box before we hit the gym door
Yeah Coach, you showed me the way to show up
“Every morning she sticks a terrible pun on my coffee maker. I’ve kept every one.”
Another terrible pun to start the day,
Stuck right where the coffee drips away.