and a table between them
Seated on one side—
a woman with a tilak
and her son
with his toy car
Facing them
two women wearing hijab—
one with her son,
the other
an expectant mother
The pregnant woman
enjoys a playful moment
with the boy and his car—
teasing him,
tickling his arms
across the table—
her motherly essence
radiating out
They play
hide and seek—
the boy slipping
under the table
Absolute strangers—
sure they are,
yet they don't feel
unknown
Through the journey,
the two boys befriend each other—
rolling the toy car
on the table—
their mothers
calmly tolerate
the mischief
As the train speeds through
fertile lands on each side,
the expectant mother
slips into a calm nap
The other woman with hijab
lets her son recite a prayer
before his meal
on the table
When her son wants to
take a nap,
she rises up from her seat
takes out her old bra
from the baggage overhead
and lets him clutch it—
his comforter
Three mothers
and the table—
a five-hour journey
shared with me—
the traveller,
the beholder
The pregnant woman
is the first to leave the table—
her belly low and wide
Maybe it's a girl