To a solemn look
For my first photo.
Teased, her shyness
Could not prevent the escape of her giggles
From fingers over her lips.
She was exhibit A;
Exhibit B, a cancer report; exhibit C,
The newspaper account of her need.
How often - in nine of her twelve years -
Had she shyly sat
While elders and betters talked over her head?
They gave me cake and a biscuit
As we discussed her. Then shyly
She leaned forward to brush the crumbs from my knee.
9 September 2019
Sivatharini
