Does It Matter?

what if sunset geese
were the best part of their day,
of their lives thus far?

More Than Bones (Us)

a museum trip
to learn English with a twist
and these masked smiles

i drive buses now 
because taking them places
is what matters most

the joy in their eyes
as they immerse themselves 
is universal

my classroom awaits
a roster of empty seats
(only time will tell)

summer camp is done.
art, yoga, cycling, love.
and home stretch? cooking.

these so-rare smiles
pouring milk for tortillas 
like happy siblings

did you say siblings?
how about our matching twins
with perfect spring rolls?

don’t forget sushi 
made with Chinese expertise
to brighten their eyes

and fufu for all
stirred by girls from two cultures
finding friends at home

these mandazi men
so proud of their puffed product
all the way from home

taco influence
on the next generation 
sharing her home’s heart

this sweet quesillo
comes from home with a sweet tale
(we’ve hit a home run)

'welcome to our house'
they even opened their car
to the teens’ delight

if they could see them
maybe they could listen; help them
maybe they’d be safe

this is how it starts:
with a circle and some words
and a little hope

yoga, gardening:
life skills and English practice
midsummer dream

family tradition:
plant trees for graduates
and watch how they grow

my mother's tree stands
at my great-aunt's former home
taller than us all

my sister's tree shades
disappearing middle-class 
(our childhood home)

and my tree shocks me
evading the ash borer
with grandiose grace

thank you for the “no.”
as phallic as this lupine
(allium ignored)

i will learn from this
(things i tell myself at night)
and grow a sagebrush

it will bloom purple
(you can’t see my true color)
and you can’t taste it

yet, here it blossoms
as beautiful as the home 
you constantly loathe

i know. i know. i…
you don’t see what i see. stop.
but god. how it hurts.

graduation day
bleeds into normal doldrums
(life's quick, painful truths)

my sunflower girl,
her modernist self-portrait 
so true to her soul