this morning

strange noises
brought me
to the window

the sky
dark with clouds

pigeons
schools of them
on the rooftops
while the geese
they flew south/west
(i think)

this was not
the first time
i had heard them
before

i was talking to amma
using a phonecard
it was winter then

when will you come home?
she had asked

today it is pleasant
after a week
of scorching sun
and rain all night

the grass wet and loose
mud sticking to our shoes
while we walked
in the park
just before eight
my husband and i

go home, he said
for your back
get yourself treated…

i thought
of the events
during
the recent past

a friend
lost his sister
barely twenty
another called
indifferent

lost her brother
she said
three years ago

over chat with amma
i told her how
these days
i think
about life and death
and us in between

it is like a game
of musical chairs
she said
yes, said i
just that
the music plays
just once

at the window
this morning
i watched
and wondered…

summer’s here
still, then

why are the geese
flying south?