…is always taken by someone else,
Have you noticed? Pictures of
Mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters,
Children, husbands, wives, can
Always be taken by wives, husbands,
Children, sisters, brothers, fathers,
Mothers – as long as one of them
(husband, wife, brother, sister, child
Parent) is missing. Why is the one
Taking the picture (boy, girl, man,
Woman) never seen as part of it?
The one who sees when she’s
Looking pensive, or catches him
With the sun in his hair, the one
Who sees the kids in temporary
Truce, just so. What is absent about
This taker, this stealer of moments?
The family portrait is perhaps
Overrated. Posed for a stranger. Its
Importance overstated.
Tag: family
That moment when
The Chandra clan hangs out
In the city, yakking about
Their feelings and those of
Others, sharing trauma and joy
Laughing till the tears come,
Nodding over some moment
Of childish fun, stories of
Grief, love, how rarely they meet
Until one looks down and sees
The curb at her feet and since
She’s quite bright, memory nudges
And she wonders when the light will
In the city, yakking about
Their feelings and those of
Others, sharing trauma and joy
Laughing till the tears come,
Nodding over some moment
Of childish fun, stories of
Grief, love, how rarely they meet
Until one looks down and sees
The curb at her feet and since
She’s quite bright, memory nudges
And she wonders when the light will
Change so they can cross the street.
Giti Chandra 