Resuming regular programming

I sit in a café

The fairy lights aren’t lit

The tea is bitter

And the skies are hiccupping rain

There’s a song that you may have liked

There are trinkets you’d have made fun of

There’s a girl you’d have smiled at

There’s a mess on the table you’d have wiped away.

Today we did this thing at home

With fire, rice, ghee, and sweets

To help you on your onward journey

Your family was there

They were sad yet happy

They remembered you fondly

Three of them gave a speech

Then they left

We though are still here

In different islands of coping

I resist the temptation of listening

To your voice that I recorded by mistake

But I’ll listen to it in time

Maybe when the fairy lights are lit

Maybe by a lake at dawn

And then we’ll talk, the way we used to, just us…

Then you tell me okay? What’s up with you, mom?