A Short Story Poem by NEDRA WILSON

THE KITCHEN TABLE

I was very young then maybe three or four years, but I remember this like it happened just yesterday, I will always remember it too. Because I saw and heard something that made me the women that I am today. When I would wake up to my mother's voice late at night I never thought much about it. Until one night I heard my mother saying 'my children don't have no food' 'my children don't have no shoes'. I got out of the bed, I wanted to see who she was talking to.
No one else was there, no one else just her. I was young, but I knew I didn't see any body there with her. It was then that I thought to ask my mother. 'who you talking too'. She looked... and said 'go back to bed, I'm talking to the man upstairs'. Well there was man upstairs I know that, but in my young mind it just didn't make sense, since the man upstairs didn't seem fit for my mother to talk to like that. Just didn't make sense.

My mother had nine children and we were very poor. Sometimes you poor but you don't know you poor because you not the one that have to feed nobody. Only the ones who have to feed somebody know if they poor. My mother knew we were poor, so she sit at that kitchen table to tell the man upstairs that we poor. The man upstairs must have known we were poor too, cause every time my mother talked to Him seems to me that the Man upstairs heard her. We didn't starve or nothing cause we all grew up to adults. I can't remember going without food and I was too young to know if I didn't have shoes. In fact I do remember this, there would be a knock on the door and whoever was on the other side of the door would give her bags of food and other things. My be it was the man up stairs giving her these things. Sometimes, he couldn't come, he would send a stranger, a neighbor, a family member or a friend and they would bring things like food and clothes and shoes. That's what I saw and heard. Then I grew up. Time really flies. One day in the month of September after many years past. I found myself sitting at the kitchen table just like my mother did. I have a baby girl of my own now. We just moved into a small apartment with just some clothes, and a few other items. No furniture at all, not even a refrigerator. The landlord had an old kitchen table and one chair, he said he was going to throw it out. I didn't say nothing but I was sure glad it was still there when I moved in. I use an old ice chest to keep my baby's milk cold. Didn't have nothing for her to lay on so I lay her on a blanket on the floor. After my baby feel asleep I moved over to that old kitchen table and sit in that one chair. Couldn't sleep that night had so much on my mind. Looking over at my baby laying on that floor, I started to feel sorry for her and sorry for me too but I always remember what my grandmother used to say bout feeling sorry for yourself.

I got over feeling sorry for myself and the next thing I knew I was saying things like 'my baby don't have no bed to lay in' and at that very moment I GOT IT. I got that my mother wasn't talking to the man upstairs, who lived upstairs. She was talking to God upstairs. I set at that kitchen table and talk to the Man upstairs and tell Him all my problems that night. I told Him that I wanted better for my baby, and I wanted to be able to give her experiences that I was to poor to experience. I thanked God for giving her to me, and promised Him that I would do my very best for her. I talked to God for the first time that night about everything. I believe He heard me too. People say that God answers a mother's prayers.
A praying mother is more powerful than then any army. I was too young to understand who my mother was really talking too, but I got it when it was my time. I needed to see my mother praying, and I'm glad I did because seeing that, made me the women I am today, A praying women...
All that I asked God for that night, He provided and it was well.

Nedra Wilson