Tiptoe

tiptoe, tiptoe

before I crossed oceans,

I crossed mouths.

they tried my name on

like a word

they'd never need again.

flip-flop, flip-flop

close enough,

they said.

close enough

is a lonely place to live.

ping-pong, ping-pong

I live here.

my dreams don't.

zigzag, zigzag

every phone call home

starts with laughter.

ends with

"okay... I'll let you go."

they have dinner.

I have tomorrow.

seesaw, seesaw

here,

I miss people.

there,

they're learning

how to miss me less.

criss-cross, criss-cross

my mother still says

your room is exactly the same.

I never ask.

I'm afraid it isn't.

tick-tock, tick-tock

someone here

calls me Ms. Alaz

I answer.

someone back home

forgets to call.

I answer that, too.

tiptoe, tiptoe

I keep becoming

someone easier

to pronounce.

someone harder

to recognize.

tiptoe...

tiptoe...

one day

I'll hear my name

the way my mother says it.

and I'll turn

before I remember

she isn't here.