Dotterweich, [X-ray of a lobster], c. 1875-1885
Albumen silver print
Image Courtesy of the Getty’s Open Content Program
My Father would say if you aim for the stars,
then you fall on the trees.
If you aim for the trees, then you fall
on the ground.
When my Father came home from the store
his white collar was brown. He would sit
with his back to the muted TV.
I wanted to be like a kid on TV and so
I invented a dog—
We took walks with a rope
I found in the neighbor’s backyard.
While I waited each night for my Father
to show him the life I could build,
my Mother would serve him fresh rice and dahl.
In America, he wore a red tie.
When I went to his store as a child, I would run
down the aisles, to visit the lobsters near death.
My father would unbind a lobster—
the lobster would cling to his tie.