Poetry at Sangam

SangamHouse

 










MY MOTHER IS A HUMMINGBIRD by Shikha Malaviya

Even though you are thousands of miles away
I imagine opening the door and finding you in the kitchen
flitting from fridge to sink to stove like a hummingbird
your ringed fingers preparing dinner.
We took you for granted
that you would always be there
and then we left instead.
In what we wore and what we ate and what we spoke
you helped us walk that tightrope
jeans and jhumkas, cheddar cheese and chai, Devanagari and English
Sab theek hai, it’s all good.
When did I become you and your hair unfurl silver
my children orbiting around me the same way we did with you
When did wrinkles start creeping into the fine silk of your face
blue veins like rivulets skimming the surface of your hands and feet
Ten years and counting since your navigator left you for other galaxies
your life now the silence of green hills and the warm bark of dogs
and yet you shine steady in our lives, our North Star
mooring us in, no matter the weather
Sometimes I hear the flap of your wings in my ear, like a whisper
but when I look up, there’s only air
 
 
 
 
 
 

Shikha Malaviya (www.shikhamalaviya.com) is an Indo-American poet & writer. She is co-founder of The (Great) Indian Poetry Collective, a mentorship model press publishing voices from India & the Indian diaspora.  Her poetry has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and featured in PLUME, Prairie Schooner & other fine journals. Shikha was a featured TEDx speaker in GolfLinks, Bangalore, in 2013, where she gave a talk on poetry. She has been a three-time mentor for AWP’s Writer to Writer Mentorship Program & was selected as Poet Laureate of San Ramon, California, 2016. She currently lives in the San Francisco Bay area.