Day 4 of 30

MAMA GOT A LAPTOP

My mother hunches over

a new laptop

a gift from me

an invitation into now

and punches the keys

as if she were smashing ants

her fingers lifting

and lowering cautiously

almost mechanically

like baby’s first steps in

the white clunky shoes

And with fear in her face

illuminated by the backlight

of the future

she starts to chuckle

both nervously

and nostalgically

and says

Jason

this must be

how my father felt

when I tried to explain

a new thing

a new idea

a new technology

called checking accounts