“Process of Distinction”
At the bagel shop
“Identity and Gender”
“Mom, Sociology is Woke”
…being invited to a conversation
My girl
big brown eyes peering over the cup
Sipping her white chocolate mocha
with her bougie nails
We share our homework highlights
She says my presentation sounds long
Hers sounds so interesting
My captures are not hers
And that’s beautiful
I want to know what she knows
She doesn’t need to know what I know
Parallel worlds can coexist
She warns me
“Don’t be an over doer
You’ll be called a child…”
I hesitate to “correct”
Or a teacher, I include.
Process of Distinction, indeed…
Michale, I think if my mother wrote something like this about a coffee shop trip, proof that she sees little parts of me (like how you saw her bougie nails and know her coffee, order, even), I would cry. The subtle juxtaposition that mirrors your new understanding as a mother to a grown child in lines like “I want to know what she knows / She doesn’t need to know what I know / Parallel worlds can coexist” is STRONG. In your writing, you have these moments of imagery that just sip through, and you leave your reader with some cheeky line to ponder is so incredibly impressive, and seen in this piece.
“She doesn’t need to know what I know”. This is so relatable in different contexts. Thank you for sharing!