Tea Stains At Borders
/This is a poem representing experiences of those living on the Mexico border and their daily existence, where a continued strain seeps into lives, relationships and routines. This poem was inspired by Sasha Pimentel’s work in the book “For Want of Water”.
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Tea stains blurred at borders
I again bring you a hot cup today
My eyes misting over like the notes
Unfolding from the tea caddy I hold
our hands clasp, skin stays tenacious
tenacious silences punctuate our songs
songs of my strained tea dusts
dusts of uncertainty, emerge
emerge from pekoe leaf reads
reads of scarce choices in stories
stories infused with possibilities
possibilities of diverse flavors
flavors of nuttiness, a world decaying
decaying into a fermented destiny
destiny brewed into a kind steep
steep that yields, a likeness to home
a home like cookie that crumbles
crumbles in oblong shapes that drip
drip between curled toes, teasing
teasing with wonder of witty whistles
whistles of cloud spewing kettles
kettles revealing uncertain aroma
aroma drizzling a cure to maladies
maladies of a world misinterpreted
misinterpreted in narrow empty spaces
spaces yearning an infusion of ginger honey
honey thaws steel like an absolute embrace
embrace that nudges days into nights
nights tucked in yet potently awake
awake with scars, and painful bruises
bruises that morph into doubtful dreams
dreams in tunnels of punctuated evenings
evenings of uncompromising silence
silences of a simmering racial ennui
ennui that puts men and women asleep
asleep to permissions, strange to another
another transitory night vacillating between
between here and there, blurred tea stains
tea stains erasing themselves between borders
borders traversed with a cup held in my palms
By Kashiana Singh
From: United States
Twitter: Kashianasingh
Facebook URL: https://www.facebook.com/authorkashianasingh/