During the race for the glassy television streams,

city lights win, plunging headfirst into the glowing roofs.

Woman catches a cat in her criss-crossed arms,

puts the flailing child into the cot

her own had already left for the sleepless planes 

bound for cities that inwardly spit on her doormats

Cat protests she says ‘shh’ feeds it porridge her children 

used to eat at the dinner table

now prank videos as the portion of homemade salsa chips

stowed in check-in baggage at the migrant counters

Keep the past in your birth certificate,

the new passport says to the homesick girl.

Mailboxes are silent, only occasionally punctuated by 

reunion advertisements for Chinese New Year,

another burden to bear for lost graves, ghost ships.

The woman peers through the WhatsApp call,

knows that her daughter is already irrevocably lost

among the aloof crowds in far flung lands