On Arriving at My Partner’s Place to Meet His Mother
forgive me, i am no prudent visitor.
i do not mean to show up empty-handed.
i do not mean to show up with empty hands,
save the trembling on my uncertain hands.
what use is the trembling on my uncertain hands
if it cannot be held tightly and called kin?
i have never been held tightly and called kin.
here in my voice is the proof of my uncertainties.
here at your door is the proof of my uncertainties
of how a mother might receive her son’s partner.
a mother calls to me and asks if i am her son’s partner.
in her house, my laughter is careless and unpoised.
in her house, my laughter is careless and unpoised.
forgive me, i am no prudent visitor.
