In my mama’s house, the men were many
They stood in a line outside the door
When I was a kid, they gave me candy
and seashells from the ocean
they’d stolen from the shore

They came like princes to the wedding
They left like sailors on the hill
When I was younger, I was ready
to receive them in the luxury
of my driftwood heart and still

I never wanted for affection
I never needed any more
All my fathers my reflection,
like the moon reflects the shore
Love came in a wave — it struck like an ocean
Like a tide it pulled me out to sea
My mama’s house is gone
but her devotion lingers on
in the back pages of my memory

Now I live my life in splendor
like some duchess or a queen
but every morning, I remember
when the sea breeze strikes and gathers
what that woman meant to me

And I never wanted for affection
I never needed any more
All my fathers my reflection,
like the moon reflects the shore
Love came in a wave — it struck like an ocean
Like a tide it pulled me out to sea
My mama’s house is gone
but her devotion lingers on
in the back pages of my memory