This poem is a toast to:
Paati’s 94th birthday
And Anya’s 1st

Our mother-daughter trip
To explore Paris in summertime

Learning to make dosas like Ma
And finally beating Pa at chess

To landing in airports
Where you can’t read the signs

To managing to fit into
Old jeans and old friend circles

To Anu leaving for college
And Rima’s fairytale wedding

This poem is a toast to
The milestones that didn’t happen

For the cakes we didn’t cut
And candles we didn’t blow

The laughs we didn’t share
The applause we never heard

This poem is for all things, big small and in-between
That we so longed to touch, feel and hear

That had our names on it
And were addressed to us

But somehow must’ve gotten
Lost in the mail