Hold Your Applause

we don’t know nothin’ ‘bout no golf clap,

pull up to da graduation twenty deep,

HOLD, principal prickly talmbout,

YOUR APPLAUSE, expect mama to sit

hushed while da legs she made move

‘cross that stage, we came to lose our

voices,YOU DID IT MAN MAN, our

LET’S GOs touch his tassel & his kicks clap

with our hands, THAT’S MY BABY moves

every set of eyes to grammy’s deep

dish dimples, for keisha’s prom we sit

in da living room speaking in lungs talmbout

YAAAASSS TO DA DRESSSSS, talmbout

LOOKIN LIKE A MONTH OF PAYDAYS, our

cameras snap & flash as da corsage sits

pretty on her wrist, uncle peaches claps

between syllables, even grandaddy’s deep

rasp joins da choir, ONE MORE DON’T MOVE,

when shay shay’s talent show gotta move

to da cafeteria her brother still talmbout

AAYYYEEE & da roach on da wall deep

dives off da “stage,” GET IT GIRL becomes our

remix of da cd’s skip, she freezes & we clap

counts back into her body, FUCK EM UP don’t sit

well in this middle school but look how she sit

in da beat JUST LIKE TT TAUGHT CHU, we move

up our chairs so fantasia can hear our claps

through da flat screen when seacrest talmbout

65 million calls, talmbout votes, talmbout our

american idol, I KNOW THAT’S RIGHT runs deep

down da block, SHE WON, but quan’s deep

sleep births OH MY GODs too, so we sit

sighs to shoulders, fill his casket with our

HALLELUJAHs, da organist’s lopsided wig moves

a playcousin’s sniffles into giggles, talmbout

I’M WEAK, palms slow roasting another clap