Friday, July 8, 2011
Day 311
5:49 pm
–
If nothing else
–
If nothing else,
let them know
my hand
hopes to be
their hands,
my skin hopes to
weather their winds
Elder sisters, mentors,
brothers, teachers,
stretch each limb toward us,
who, despite our best intentions,
have felt the earth
loosen underneath our
carefully packed identities
Their ways have
woven myriad patterns
throughout time, across
dissonant poetry and divergent
visions proclaimed in many a
town hall debate among
the generations
But they laced dirty old soles,
packed leftovers back into the
freezer, patted our backs to
exit the car when we complained
of being too sick to face the
chalkboard
All this in between union
meetings and carpools between
basketball and pilgrimage, to
have us read the history books
they tucked into pamphlets, penned
by street scholars and
unassuming obachans
They reach further for us,
always pushing, always holding
on, our direction does not change,
we have only widened the
path
Our faces change in colour,
our hats hang at all
borders, our tongues taste
language as the palate
expands
Let them age, knowing
the paths they walked
are safe with us
If nothing else,
we will tell them
at their final request,
our feet hope to be
their feet,
our skin will
weather the tests
of their winds
–
–
tkk
–
–
