Daddy asked me one muggy day,
If I wanted to ride the ell again.

My attention caught the swings, for a bit,
Before turning to him and saying,

“I ain’t goin’ back to the city, Daddy,
To see Jerry or nobody,

‘Cause the city snatches my breath away,
And not in the sweet way neither.

The buildings make me feel so lost,
And, I’m lost ‘nough, as it is.

The people tell me my smile’s too warm,
For a place that eats up chills.

Can’t I stay here in your lap, forever,
And pretend to be unaware?

Listenin’ to talk of crime afar,
Glad that we’re not there?”

Daddy held my hand and stroked my hair,
‘Til it seemed as if hours flew by.

Then, he kissed, so softly, my frizzy hair,
And said, “At some point, you need to fly.”