Extended Family

Right now I’m sitting at a table in a restaurant 

on Sentosa Island in Singapore 

Looking out over the tropical treetops

At the incongruous fleets of ships and refinery towers in the distance,

Listening to babies crying in the languid heat of the afternoon

While Christmas songs play in the background.

And right now I’m thinking of Diane just waking up

On a cold frosty morning in Glasgow,

Or maybe dreaming one last dream before she wakes for church.

And I’m also thinking of our son Kenneth not quite as cold,

In the middle of the night, 

Waiting at the Cedar Rapids airport in Iowa in America

to give his roommate a ride home on his return 

From his Thanksgiving trip home.

And right now I extend my mind to our other son Brendan, 

Closest of them all, in Tokyo 

In his study sneaking in some programming on a late Sunday afternoon 

While Mayumi and our granddaughter Mizuki have a girls' shopping afternoon

And Yuki plays a video game.

 

Right now, thinking of you all,

My scattered family, around the world: 

many places, many times, all interconnected.

                                         -1 Dec 2019, Singapore