Khan Singh Kumar
Father to son
With head turban’d at the front door,
my father has returned from India
to land his suitcase between us.
He says I’ve done well for myself
with my style of car, my cost of mod cons.
I’ve worked hard on the hard work he’d begun
but I’ve forgotten my contents like a country finished,
like the pictures of our ten Gurus, our Golden Temple,
and why do I not speak, or speak English?
Having recently discovered his religion,
he continues in the serpentine tripthongs -
the sad assonance of his incantatory Indian,
about the wife he carefully chose me, she
must have turned out like me. Well, he will have to stay
and stay till his mission is over. Opening his suitcase,
he saturates the room with folk songs, film hits,
fun village stories, street march voices, speeches, dirges,
hymns - all hell breaks loose - I feel myself croak,
gasp - the unguals that grope my throat, scrape
up to my tongue to stake their claim,
the hidden noise of childhood is out of camouflage.
Where do I start with my anglicised son? I turn faintly
to where my father starts with a sat sri akal
where my son turns from flashing the websites.
Page(s) 45-46
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