Love, I say..
Can live many lives
And die many deaths
It was pink. The cupcake filling was pink. In all honesty, I was expecting blue. For some reason I always thought that we’d have a boy first. Not in a gender-biased way, but in an “our family kept having dreams it was a boy so it altered our expectations” way.
It’s been six years since I lost him.
But in truth, the fear of losing him
started much earlier.
Jamal found out at 7 a.m. on a Friday that his wife Mira was nowhere to be found.
Mira was the occasional morning runner. According to her, that was the only time she had to herself most days. But he had spotted her workout clothes neatly arranged at their designated spot…
At ten years old, you get invited to a classmate’s house for her birthday party for the first time. Between cake and presents, you observe the presence of her older sister in the background: a towering figure, so cool, almost unapproachable.
I watch the sun blink goodbye / just in a matter of moments / This bright orange sphere…
Morning broke without you,
and with it, your suffering.
I thought your loss would break me,
as much as your love empowered me.
Within the roots of this land, I imagine the tales of our grandmothers
sipping on saffron chai and laughing huskily at the jokes they share…
