POETRY : Agua and other poems by Jina Dcruz

 

Agua

“Agua”, my two year old muttered

To my bewildered mono lingual brain.

"Izz blue Amma", he babbled on

Staring at the colorful “zapatos”

Of his playmate

They speak in colors

With languages of their own creation

Seeking yet not selfish

Oozing the relentless torrent of wonder

Ebbing like a stream of consciousness

I shift around as my confusion brews up

Fogging up my reflection in the mirror

Of a mother who fails often

In an alien land with quaint norms

Staring at the colorful “zapatos”

Of his playmate

She picks up her water bottle

And passes it on

With a smile, only a child can conjure

As if it's obvious

That best things in life need to be shared

Like water and love!

*In Spanish, Agua is water and zapatos are shoes.

The Lunchbox

I distinctly remember

That tantalizing smell

Of opening my lunchbox

That unexplained feeling

Of mystery and curiosity

Taking me to Amma’s childhood and Appa’s adventures

Scent of spices

Fiery and laced with love

Transporting you like a magic carpet

To worlds within a steel dabba.

But these days I dread the reveal

Of spices and the riot of colors

Only to watch the pungency

Wrinkle up my friends' faces

Eyes filled with accusation

Of a crime, I didn't know I committed

I suddenly know

How it must be to be an earthling who lands on Mars

And why superheroes are lonely

Pondering over what it could have been

Gulping down the idli and sambar

Neatly parceled off in a rectangle frame with circle boxes

Much like

A square peg in a round hole

If only my lunchbox

Didn't mark me apart

I wish I could rinse away

The differences and

Doggy bag  my "culture"

To a PB&J sandwich

With chutney on the side.

Monkey Bar

We walk hand in hand,

Mother and son

Each with lofty purposes of our own

We see them too

Another mom-son duo

In tandem approaching

The monkey bar.

Our neighborhood park

is where we meet, where we exchange furtive looks

That secret ritual every parent performs

To build a circle of protection around their progeny

Dark spaces exist in the safest of places

Separated by the hues of our skin

Wary and timid, the moms look away

Zooming in on faraway horizons

Avoiding small talk

Awkwardly sneaking in glances

To score each other

On a rating scale reserved for mothers

Either pass or fail

And nothing in between

While the kids unaware and unbothered

Spring aboard, flip back, and hang in

Bubbling with unbridled joy

Sprint ahead, pull up and fall down

Chiming in bells of laughter

Conquering the mountain of differences

Climbing atop the monkey bar

Bridging the gulf of uncomfortable silences

Making the world a smaller, cozier, happier place

Hard to ignore

Now the invisible thread of maternal bond

Two eyes meet

Silent pleasantries exchanged

Lauding the sisterhood of motherhood

Understood and accepted without judgment

A secret creed

Telling untold stories of

Fatigue, familiarity, and fear

We part with a smile

Leaving our biases and inhibitions

Hanging it to dry in the monkey bar.

About the Poet  

Jina Dcruz lives in Atlanta, is a Health Scientist at her day job and enjoys various creative outlets in her spare time. She writes poetry and explores food history to escape from existential quandaries.