Maria Quiet

They say that I was born
Of slave mogama and white man
My father slept in iron bed
My mother on cold sand
When my father called
My mother would come
Never said a word
As if she were dumb
A woman who will talk too much
Is soon to lose her man
They say God made man first
And made a woman second choice
And so that’s why woman should
Obey her master’s voice
When the man is hungry
She bakes the bread
When man is cold
She warms up the bed
Standing up or laying down
The woman has to work
They say poor man wakes early
And he works until it’s night
The rich man wakes up late
And tells the poor man what is right
So the poor prays to shango up above
So the rich will lose the money they love
But rich or poor the woman has
To work for both of them