Mud Children

Where do you belong?

Your mother,
She closed her eyes
And flew back to India:
The scent of jasmine lingers-
Where she touched your brown face.

Where do you belong?

Your father was off,
Chasing an African river; Lehlaba*
The promise of gold and a princedom
He already had within his veins.

Where do you belong now?

Your forefathers do not claim you,
Mud child-
With your high, flat forehead,
Brown face peering into life
And your bent hair pressed
To resemble straightness.

So you traverse the street corners
Of this world seeking...
And you find your heritage:

In another mixing;
tila-tandulaka. *
… Another mud child,
With oriental eyes,
Blinking in the dawning light
Of her tomorrows.

Vrikshadhirudhaka*, love:
Climb toward the sun.

Author notes (Mud Children)

“Mud Children” refer to children of “mixed” racial ancestry (like the mixing of soil and water) and this poem celebrates how they came to be, their uncertain identity and more. On a deeper level, this poem can speak of the divisions that we, as a culture, are born with, divisions based on culture, gender and ethnicity.  The following terms add to an understanding of the poem. The first two terms are taken from the Kama Sutra for both their ethnic and sexual connotations. They are juxtaposed with the African term below to illustrate through diction the thematic “mixing” that the poem aims to express.

*tila-tandulaka— The mixing of sesamum rice position.
*Vrikshadhirudhaka— a tree-climbing position.
*Lehlaba—  An African word meaning "sandy river" that may or may not contain gold.