My Indian In-laws
I remember India:
palm trees, monkey families,
fresh lime juice in the streets,
the sensual inundation
of sights and smells
and excess in everything.
I was exotic and believable there.
I was walking through dirt
in my sari,
to temples of the deities
following the lead
of my Indian in-laws.
I was scooping up fire with my hands,
glancing at idols that held no meaning for me,
being marked by the ash.
They smiled at the Western woman,
acting religious, knowing
it was my way of showing respect.
It was an adventure for me
but an arm around their culture for them.
To me it was living a dream
I knew I could wake up from.
To them it was the willingness
to be Indian that pleased.
We were holding hands
across a cultural cosmos,
knowing there were no differences
hearts could not soothe.
They accepted me
as I accepted them,
baffled but in love
with our wedded mystery.
Wayward Wind
My patient, Paul, wrote in a poem
that he belongs to the wayward wind,
a restless breed,
a strange and hardy class.
I’ve been with him for two years
and now he is dying.
“Are you in pain, Paul?” I ask.
“I AM pain,” he said.
But he is refusing medication
although his cancer has spread
from his kidneys to his lungs, brain and bones.
Somehow bearing this pain to the grave
is his last act of defiance/bravery/repentance.
My hands are tied.
My job now is to protect his choice
and later as promised
to collect his ashes,
read his poems in my garden
then set him free in the wind
where he belongs.
Subraman is a poet, writer, artist and hospice nurse. Her writing can be found in over 400 journals, reviews, anthologies, books and chapbooks. Her art can be seen mostly in her living room and homes of friends. Her hospice work is felt in the hearts and minds of patients' families long after she has eased their loved ones through the final journey.
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Newspaper Tree is pleased to consider submissions of poetry for publication in upcoming issues. Please submit up to five poems of no more than two pages, along with a biographical note of no more than 30 words, to Donna Snyder, Poetry Curator, c/o publisher@newspapertree.com.
