Love is a Verb
my first night home, i eat
alone in my favorite ramen place.
in the booth next to me,
there is a curly haired boy wearing
a sweatshirt that says the name of my best friend’s alma mater,
and his father,
whose eyes are dog-tired behind
small glasses, scuffed
boots and work shirt.
over the sounds of my own slurping
i listen in on the boy asking
stupid questions of the waiter about
size, price. he apologizes
over and over again, asks
his father’s opinion.
when their food arrives,
the boy murmurs happy birthday to the father, asks
him to smile for a picture.
i watch the gulf between them yawn,
the boy’s desperation shivering
in the dim air.
the father doesn’t.
the camera flashes in the darkness,
fades.
i watch the boy coach his father through
eating pork chashu, their hands fluttering,
delicate cheeks unused to
such luxury. i watch
the boy pile onto his own spoon,
rope-bridge his father the
perfect bite. i watch
his father drop it. noodles spill
over the table like confessions. i watch
the boy’s face fall and i watch
his father’s tense and unsure silence and
suddenly the boy smiles and
goes back to piling meat onto his spoon, constructs
the second perfect bite, an after-rib like
eve and passes
his father the spoon again and says
happy birthday baba
happy birthday