Yao
In which nobody understands Kiku.
One morning,
Mother wasn't there
To greet us in the kitchen.
•
He'd fallen ill,
I soon learned,
When I peered into my parents' room
And see him lying in bed.
Pallid.
Shivering.
•
That noon,
When I came to bring him lunch,
He sat up, painfully,
And beckoned me closer.
•
"My dear child",
he croaked,
"May you be so kind as to fetch Yao for me?"
•
I stopped in my tracks,
Unsure of what to say
To my sickness-stricken mother.
•
"Father is away, mother",
I murmured.
"He went to the capital this morning,
do you not remember?"
•
Mother only smiled,
And told me.
"You do not understand, child."
•
"Then I will bring my sister,
who has spoken Chinese
For far longer than I have,
And may understand you",
I requested.
•
Mother nodded his head.
•
A few minutes later,
I return
With my sister tailing behind me:
My sister,
With her bubbly chestnut locks
And her firecracker smile.
•
Again,
My mother croaked:
"My dearest daughter.
You have spoken Chinese
For far longer than us.
•
"May you be so kind as to fetch Yao for me?"
•
Sister's firecracker smile
Dissolved beneath her chestnut locks.
•
"Father is away, mother",
She chirped.
"He took a junk to Beijing,
And will not be back until the eve.
He spoke of this to you,
Do you not remember?"
•
Mother frowned,
And told her.
"You do not understand, child."
•
"Then we shall return with our eldest brother,
Who is a scatterbrain,
But not unintelligent,
And may understand you",
She requested.
•
Mother nodded his head,
And sank back into bed.
•
An hour later,
We managed to find our brother
Hovering in the bustling marketplace downtown,
And haul him before my mother:
My brother,
With his funny bed-hair
And his foolhardy face.
•
For a third time,
Mother croaked:
"My dearest son.
You are a funny thing,
But you are also clever.
•
"May you be so kind as to fetch Yao for me?"
•
My brother's funny bed-hair
Mirrors the baffled look
On his foolhardy face.
•
"Father is away, mother",
He crowed.
"He took a junk to Beijing
To tend to political business.
Your fever must be making you delusional, for
Do you not remember?"
•
Mother sighed,
And with a shake of his head,
Told him.
"You do not understand, child."
•
"Then I shall call upon uncle,
who is more intelligent than I,
And may understand your delusional puzzles!"
He requested.
•
"Very well then",
Mother exhaled.
•
Two hours later,
Uncle arrived by junk,
And had joined us in my parents' quarters:
My uncle,
With his intelligent gaze,
And rimmed glasses.
•
For a fourth time,
Mother croaked:
"Brother-in-law,
You are brilliant,
So you are sure to understand me this time.
•
"May you be so kind as to fetch Yao for me?"
•
Uncle's intelligent gaze
Was wide with uncertainty
Behind the polished rims of his glasses.
•
"Yao is away, brother-in-law",
He explained.
"I imagine he is in Beijing,
Tending to the coronation of his
Child emperor,
Which shall take place soon.
The gazette has spoken of it frequently,
So how is it
Do you not remember?"
•
Mother, and his
Shivering, pallid face,
Looked to uncle.
Looked to my brother.
Looked to my sister.
•
Looked to me.
•
And cried.
"You do not understand!
Nobody understands!
Please,
Leave me be for the rest of the day."
•
And so we did.
•
But later that night,
As we were
Arguing
About who would bring mother dinner,
He limped into the kitchen
Out of his own accord
And retrieved a serum of medicine.
As I think that it's only fair that I slip in a tiny clue for the meaning behind this one this time...
耀 = Yào = Yao
药 = Yào = Medicine
There's a second hidden meaning behind this too, I realized after re-reading my poem, but I'll leave that last one to your imagination, otay~?
-Plumeria-hi, who is too exhausted from school assignments to bother trying to be witty tonight