Ngwatilo

Teacups
Eleven years old and accustomed to seeing
the Jacaranda trees carpet the hill-side
with their lavender flowers, loving them even
when they wilted and returned to dirt; I still hoped
Dad would put colored lights on the twenty
foot cypress tree outside at Christmas, utterly
disregarding its browning diseased needles
and his fragility, to believe we will be back soon
in a year [...]