Foreign Graduation

2/24/07

He climbs onto the stage, her father
brown skin gleaming with sweat
hands twitching from nervousness
love conquering his whole being and radiating out of his eyes
searching for the one thing of utmost importance to him,
his daughter.

Composed now, he opens his mouth
but his intended speech doesn't come out
in broken English, he attempts to explain what his daughter means to  him
but the only way his heavy accent allows him to express his love
is through the unclear metaphors of his daughter's college application process.

But if one cares to listen closely enough
the tenderness amidst those apathetic words can be heard
a poetic melody flowing from his lips
his face crinkles into a smile as he catches his daughter's eye
"I love you," he thinks
but the audience hears, "and then she applied to.."

He may have been unable to successfully convey his feelings
but that's alright
what he didn't say, can be seen
his actions, hurried, worried, and aggravated
reek of a man worried about his daughter.

He stumbles, awkwardly mingling with the guests
his eyes never straying off his daughter's face, his pride and joy
he makes sure everyone is well fed, makes polite conversation
feeling pity for everyone he talks to
because he knows no one has a daughter anything like his
to him, she is all that matters.

He has a daughter
she is beautiful, smart, and funny
his little girl
as long as that smile never strays from her face
as long as tears never come into her lovely brown eyes,
his world will continue to spin.

But the worth lies in the eyes of the beholder
some see love in that man's every action
forgiving his flaws, noticing the love and sincerity behind his every word
filling his every breath
but some see something else.

Some see,
a man with unruly hair
dark skin, broken English and horrible taste in clothing
a man that by speaking in "English" manages to alienate only the native English speakers in the crowd
somehow converting his words into that of some Indian language
even though the words are distinctly English.

As he climbs onto stage, he seems to forget it's a grad party
instead of speaking about his daughter
he uses incomprehensible jargon due to the misplacement of his thick accent in the current setting
he speaks about how much he spent on college applications
rather than about his love for his daughter.

His every action depicts that of an immigrant
his manners worse than that of "primitive" men
he attempts to mingle in the crowd
his eyes continuously straying from place to place
repeatedly pausing to linger at an ugly girl for no reason.

He harasses the guests, always speaking with a frown of worry on his face
aggravated, he loads more food onto each guest's plate
his eyes appearing to appraise the amount of food consumed by each person.

His eyes glaze over
as if calculating the cost of the party
assessing everything from the cost of the hall to
the cost of his daughter's education.

Who knows why he threw the party
just like him, his daughter isn't much to look at
dark sin, dark hair, dark eyes
with the same awkward gait as her father
she mumbles nonsense to each guest.

None of this seems to matter
because in the end
the worth of something lies in the eyes of the beholder.