Sonia Sarkar

SAN FRANCISCO IN SPRING

we are 30 miles out from the epicenter, but the first thought that comes to my mother’s mind is the way they used to duck for cover during air drills in 1971. safely ensconced in her arms, these tremors are even better than the steady humming of our minivan, my favorite cradle. as the plaster cracks around our newly painted doorframe, she says she has never watched me fall asleep so peacefully, so rapidly.