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.

Tears Talk

The first thought of this day 

It's here- the book 

A first,
second,
or fifth- loved just the same

 

Yet hidden in this delight, 

I find a niggling thought
that whispers: 

you didn't say what you wanted to

You said too much,  

you said too little 

You fool, 

you looked terrible  

With tears in your eyes
In that place

And I stand strong 

shut my ears  

and shake my head- I don't listen

to this voice 

today

I was with friends, I retort 

people I came from 

and those who come from me

They don't care 
about more or less
T

hey've let me be 

And for them I spoke 

And for those who weren't there 

That live in my heartbeat, 

each one

Leave, now 

You Sly Critical-Voice-Of-Days-Bygone 

 

I command,recognizing this whisper, 

Let me show you the door 

Don't bother coming back
  

My tears come
from a place of strength

courage 

and as Disha knew long ago, 

at the tender age of 3

From joy

I'm like this only

And it's okay

My Jai-Hind, caught at midnight

Dear compatriots in Hindustan: don't scoff at my Jai Hind
It comes from a place of respect

Where everyday I teach my children
And remind others around me
That there's more to me
Than silk saris and spicy samosas

And everyday I fight against
The mud slinging
When people call us 'those people'

I

 do not stand on a pedestal

I stand with you
Paying respects to the Tiranga
And cheering for our men in blue

I also remember LakshmiBai
And Bachendri, and Usha
And Kalpana
Arundhati
And Shamsia, Sudnya,
Advita, Ipsita, Kaaveri, Vishakha
And Veena
And I think of Tahira from across the border
Who calls me Didi

Batwaara and Azaadi
Two sides of the same coin then!
The lines drawn by unseen hands long ago
Wounds festering to this day

May freedom come
With humility and no caste divides

May no Nirbhaya die

And may we promise
That borders between hearts
Are erased forever
So the master plan of Batwara
Doesn't win over
And over

This I wish us
On this curious day

For both Jai Hind
And Sar Zameen are made of
People and
Their children, so like mine.