Evergreen Cassette

If I mistook
The sun for a mango
I’d fly up there and reach for it too
It’s the story of something older
And bigger than me and you
And you told it
In a letter
In the form of an evergreen cassette
And I played it
In the morning
Till after the sun would set
See, mother I believe
That half of everything I hear is true
Between you and me
I believe the anecdotes too
In the veranda
In the midnight heat
Cousins and I would wait for the rain
Singing songs about America
And then the first drops came
So don’t worry
Even though you were
Oceans and continents away
I heard evergreen hits, lullabies
And everything you had to say
See, mother I believe
That half of everything I hear is true
Between you and me
I believe the anecdotes too
If they get you through
If time, time could be bent with the drop of a tear
You’d see it rained in our house for a year
This is the sound of the beating you’d hear
All the tapes we’ve taped over all of our hopes and our fears
The open veranda’s been flooding for years
I always hope that I’d see you here
But time, time can’t be bent with the drop a tear
And though you say you missed out all of those years
Your voice on the tapes always kept us near
See, mother I believe
That half of everything I hear is true
Between you and me
I believe in everything you do