by Vendella Brown, a resident of Olive Branch, and a member of Northcentral Electric.
Watching the Mississippi moon rise
over a long, tall line of pink
Crepe Myrtle trees and white,
hibiscus flowers, potted inside an automobile tire.
While a pot of turnip greens
comes to a slow boil on an iron stove.
I respect Mississippi’s new state flag.
Its design expresses what is to be.
Full of legacy and diversity.
I have been in love with Mississippi
since I was a child,
digging sweet dirt out of a sandy clay
hill to make mud pies.
In the evening, between 6 p.m.
and 7 p.m., looking out
on the green land, and feeling warm breezes
blow, it’s spring’s calm before
summer’s humidity falls.
There is a hummingbird feeding its young.
Mississippi calls us home.
When hordes of butterflies
come in late July
to fly over the wildflower field.
The wonder takes you back
to an antiquity of Indian country.
Reminiscence with me, my Mississippi,
for you are the wise,
your people wiser, and your calm is the glory of God.
