Markham Morning

We're are at the dentist 

This morning 

After a Sunday chat 
and cuddle  

With my daughter  

and the peaceful one 

With emerald eyes and ringed tail 

And breakfast at beloved T and T 

 Just now in the parking lot 

A familiar face 

The man who 
closed down the kurti store 

Whose merchandise marked  

The start of my summer
for years 

has opened a convenience store beside Jaffna kitchen.  

So emergencies are taken care of 

a mental note
milk etc can be bought  

on winter days 

When we forget that we've run low 

 we chat a while: Come visit he invites 

I'm just glad I just met him.  

Simple affirmations that this is IT 

 That's what we'd come here for:
Escapees from 
a fattening expat circuit 

Two years per country, 

An IB education 

And friends from consulates and multinationals 

Who smacked
their little daughter's hand 

If she reached 
for a rival pop brand 
at a birthday party 

Who tracked status 
by your car brand 

And the crystal glasses 
filled with good ol' H2O 

We came here: with 9 bags, each other, two children 

And no jobs 

Stepping off a cliff 

Into a chasm
On a belief 

Sold us by 
immigration messages 

To belong, to know people by name, 

to ask about kids growing up 

and to share stories  

of where we're were headed. 

So I guess 
after 11 years 
this is home.