Confusions

When a car stops so I can cross the road
I don’t know if I should wave saying thanks
Or nod the head with a smile.
What is too much and what is too less?
I am confused.
When I see an Indian in a different country
I don’t know if I should walk face straight
Or smile at the Indian.
What is too much and what is too less?
I am confused.
At the supermarket, should I buy a large saver pack or a smaller one?
I could buy the saver pack but what if I die this week?
I am confused.
Who knows what tomorrow will bring?
My mother says I am a milkweed flower–
Fluttering from the wind in all directions
Not knowing where to go.
Sometimes I want to be like a fine mathematical equation.

Like 1+1=2. See? Simple.

Or like an apple on a tree that knows exactly when and where to fall.

No hesitance to fall. No rolling around. That simple.

Anu Karippal is a PhD student in Anthropology at the University of Virginia.

Featured image: Hans-Peter Gauster / Unsplash