One Lump Or Two?
My Aunty was born in London
and scoffed at scams like horoscopes and lifelines.
She scolded, “Do not be foolish, Dear,
one cannot tell squat from a palm,
the secret is in how they take their tea.”
I sat, wide-eyed, sipping Earl Grey
as she said,
“Dear girl, beware of those
who take three sugar cubes,
as they are greedy and never content
with you, the world, or themselves.”
Then she continued onto
my Mother’s type
which insists on strong black tea.
Cautioning, “Those minimalists are loyal,
hardworking souls
but headstrong to the bone.
They cannot agree with people unlike them
which is why your Father left her.”
“And sensible people,”she winked at me,
“take one sugar and a good bit of milk”
Which is precisely how she and I take our tea
and I nodded, poker-faced,
because I knew what Aunty meant
when she said sensible.
She meant those people who run countries,
enforce justice, and do not tolerate
the fancies and whims of dreamers.
I took an unsophisticated gulp
wondering what Aunty would think
if she knew
I had been upstairs all morning,
lounging in my nightdress,
writing poem on poem
about those whims
and fancies and horoscopes.
Gender:
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