Everything
I ever learned
about the hustle
I learned from
my father.
He never
ran game
but on Sunday
mornings he'd
hold us all
in the palm
of his hand.
In a neat line,
on stubborn
wooden pews
with Mom,
two brothers
and three
sisters
I sat
while Dad
( who was
a high school
drop-out )
taught me
unknowingly
the power
a keen vocabulary
and a clever
story has
over a man.
I learned
that speaking
softly
drew the ears
closer,
and that
meter is
the most
important tool
of all.
I was schooled
in the value
of giving
them something
to believe in.
Even if they
couldn't see it.
Everything
I ever learned
about grinding
for dope
and money,
I learned
from my father
in a small
country church
on a dusty gravel road.
