Poem: Attachment by Neeru Iyer

Attachment

By Neeru Ayer
QuailBellMagazine.com

​I'm not really a dreamer
But I dream some
Especially on nights when
I'm not sure if I'm hot or cold
Home is only a Skype call away

Fifteen minutes
Of wondering if they can see and hear me
But I once dreamed that
We were all stranded in Russia
I once dreamed that
My father died
And my mother followed
I once dreamed that
Not mosquitoes but fat crocodiles
Resided in the swamp near home
Dad and Mum the target of their menace
But even in my dream I'm still attached
To reality
"I'm only an engineer," I whine
Before confronting the reptiles
Wherever it may be
My dreams are all brownwashed
Not the color of barks and branches
Or poop
Brown, the skin
Where I come from
We like to call it "fair" or "wheat"
It’s okay if it can be bleached
To unblemished ivory
A manageable shade
A marriageable hue
When you live miles away
The guilt is a healed scar
That burns only at the memory
I'm still attached to reality
My favorite word is 'Brahmin'
As I've been taught to believe
And it works best when attached
To 'guilt'