Dry sheets

They met in a laundrymat woud you believe
One out in the valley on Magnolia and Cahuenga
On the corner just south from where Brother Hassan
Usta be sellin' bean pies
Something special was bound to happen over there
You hardly never see black Muslims in the valley
Don't know why though

We like bean pies just as much as the
Brothas and sistas over the hill
We shol need whatever it is God got to give
God, Allah, Jesus, Mohammad

My uncle say it don't really matter none what you call him
The wisdom come
From only one Most High
He is dead now though
My uncle that is

She was folding Tide scented sheets and
Just about to wipe the sweat from her brow

It shol do be gettin' hot in the valley don't it
When folks be havin' the air on
You cold when you inside
Then you hot the minute you come out again
That's how folks be gettin' sick
I guess everybody don't think about it like that though

She look over and couldn't believe she was seein'
What she was seein'
But there he was plain as day
She walk over to him real slow like
So she don't run him off none
After all this time you never do know how a person feel
She lookin' much older now
Been so many tears ago
Her face stained with

Crenshaw and Vernon all the
Way over to Long Beach Blvd
Goin' down south to San Pedro back
Up through Watts
And every other road she been
Down callin' his name
RalfEdward?

RalfEdward?

She whispered so low she coud hardly hear herself say it
But his bones felf the fire of every syllable
That you aint it boy

He looked up into a face what useta be so soft
He could see through and reach the moon
They just stared right through each other's eyes

They never had to say how hard times was alone
He just held her in his arms
Arms so weak he could barely keep up his own bootstraps
She released tears she thought she run out of
Pipes and joints and shots ago
She never had to apologize for employing
Her four year old baby to

Stop bitchin' and stand right there at the
Muthafuckin' window and hand the muthafuckin'
Shit to the muthafuckas when I say so
Dammit!

She never had to explain the drugs she used
To forget what she sold
He just held her tighter and rocked
Every squeeze said that he would never understand
Then he remembered Jesus saying to Peter

Peter stepped to Jesus and said

Lawd, Lawd, how oftimes shall my brother
Sin against me and I forgive him
Say? Seven times?

And Jesus said

Ah say not unto thee until seven times
But until seventy times seven

He knew that Jesus meant to add an
Additional seventy and seventy and seventy
When it came to mothers and sons

He never had to forgive her for leaving him alone
In an abondoned buiding while he was sleep
Yeah he was only seven but twenty years
Have gon by now since that day
What could be said after all this time

They just held each other in a laundrymat
One out in the valley on Magnolia and Cahuenga