​

my mama said

she would point and say  chair

or  sky  or  water  but

always I said   papaya

 

she would pass me
to papa and I would pinch his
nose and say  papaya   papaya
over and over papaya  and everyone

would laugh

it must have been lovely   everything

papaya  even when it came to be

that there would be no papaya  no more

 

nose    I would know

the world well