Sunday Dinner on the Grounds

Summer sun shines through stained glass

Women cool with ice cream-stick fans

The Good Shepherd sways to and fro

Generating a faint breeze

The minister speaks

His loud voice tells of love and promise

I listen from wooden pew

Too young to understand the words

Instead I focus on shiny black shoes

White socks with lace trim

I swing my feet back and forth

Only to receive a warning glare

The smell of fried chicken fills the air

My mind is on the back room

Bowls of potato salad and baked beans

Sweet tea and pound cake

Sunday dinner on the grounds

Soon I will be free to run, laugh, and play

Around the little white church

Around the trees and cars

While people talk of politics and God

Today I sit on wooden pew

Listening to words of love and promise

In the cool of the air-conditioned room

I will talk about politics and God

But my heart will still be running

Around the trees and cars

And the little white church.