Shallow Questions Poem by RIC BASTASA

after dinner
the birthday party of her spinster sister
the usual fried chicken and rice
long noodles for long life
an imagery
of so much superstition
some yellow mangoes
sweet sour
red wine on the table
some fine classic glasses
a toast of
her having to have another year
of boredom

some questions after some drinks
a little drunk he must be
some personal questions as he carries his baby
the mother is lazy i think
and they must have quarreled with her mother-in-law
i don't mind
i keep my own mind
there are other concerns
but he is drunk now and asks me
why i don't go to church on Sunday for the mass
i evaded such a lousy question
an interference on my religious belief
my own convictions
God is somewhere and has a permanent residence
In my heart in my mind in my body in my soul
etcetera
but it is the dinner birthday party of her very lonely spinster sister

i beg away from a drunken discussion
about God and Politics
No heated debates this time of the year
this moment of happiness on a birthday like this
Jokes and light matters
Feathery and Smooth and Comfortable must be the theme
and Points of Convergence

i shift to something life.
'Hey, you have grown more hair, my friend'

we laugh.That i think, is a happy ending.