Father's (Fathers' Day)

Yesterday your ears worked just fine
today your whining hearing aid died
ancient and foreign all at once
is your silence.
Now you hold my face
between your hands

and watch my mouth
speak;
then you write
your blessings
with your lips
on my forehead

Let me hear
be your child
interpret your genes,
perform your decrees
aspire: sishya as student
spiral: suta as bard

[fragment]
_

Two Worlds Collide

One of the first things Big A did when we moved in together was get rid of the cookware I had left over from when I householded with J, my late husband. Thereafter, he convinced me to replace the car, sundry furniture, my name, and most other remnants of my previously married life. Weird, but also not weird. My mom attributes it to him being a Scorpio (possesive) and is sure the reason I empathize is because I'm a Pisces (wimp). It's a theory.

I've remained on good terms with my former in-laws though, and they've been staunch allies in most of my endeavors, and continue to call from all corners of the world on my birthday and the big Tamil festivals. MA, my sweet sister-in-law, is on a short New York visit and she wants to come spend the weekend with me.

She's coming today: a.k.a. the day Big A and I celebrate our wedding anniversary; a.k.a. awkward!


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Child (Grades)

we tell you stories
about dreaming hard
streaming suggestions
breezes made of begging
at the doors of your mind

we have filled these teacups
with fireflies, dreams for you
each pour sits scaled precise
except for your loved figure
grinning, beginning more real

[fragment]
__
There's an unsettlingly Alanis-y irony when your spelling bee winning, "gifted," "above grade level" child who has always loved to read and reads all the time gets a D-. (In Reading no less.) 


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Summarizing

"Love of you is mixed deep in my vitals."

OR

"I'll eat you up, I love you so!" 

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Substance; Scale

An Arab Spring
A summer of superheroes
what now of winters

hints of itinerant
nations, their
nomadic tailwinds

Losing time soon
every day hides heroes
with a million faces.

_

Chelli (Baby Sister)

There's a bridge
the color of steam,
made of years
of shared bedrooms
between us.

They're your parents too,
she acknowledges.
i guess it's ok--
if they... want to
spend some time with you

_

(Grand)parents are here!

What we know:
That already my American spouse and kids speak 100% more Telugu.
***
What we knew:
Having weathered several other neurotic pre-parent arrival prep periods, Big A knew not to ask why I would need to give myself a facial and paint my toenails before my parents arrived. (Nevermind that they used to see me in full-on acne cream and in a previous era, diapers. Or indeed, that a few months from now, my toenail polish will be undeniably chipped.)
***
What we know now:
That the seven-seater hybrid we got in order to accommodate the six people who will live under the same roof would need to be run regularly. (It turns out that the only way to protect the earth while driving a big car is to drive it more than you want to.) So minutes before we needed to leave for the airport to pick grandparents up we needed to call AAA to jumpstart our car.
***
And YAY! They're here!!

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