Ice Cream Before Lunch Is My Jurisdiction

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
My sister leaves the list
on the refrigerator
No sugar before noon
Vegetables first
Bedtime at eight
Screen time is thirty minutes
and I have read the list
and I respect the list
and the ice cream shop
on Rue des Martyrs
opens at ten
Di den day con
Come here to auntie
I say it
and the child
already knows
the voice
that means the list
is taking a nap
[Verse 2]
I am the aunt
which means
I have the love
without the schedule
The love without the spreadsheet
The love that arrives on Saturday
with a bag
that contains exactly one thing
the parents said no to
and the thing
is small enough
to be consumed
before they return
and large enough
to be remembered
when the child
is forty
I am the woman
who teaches
what the parents
are too responsible
to teach
Which is
sometimes the rule
bends on Saturday
and the bending
does not break anything
and the ice cream
will not ruin lunch
because lunch
was never the point
[Pre-Chorus]
My sister says
you spoil them
and I say
no
I season them
differently
and she laughs
because she was also
seasoned
by an aunt
who brought the wrong thing
at the right time
and she remembers
and the remembering
is why she leaves
the list
but also
leaves me
the keys
[Chorus — full brass, bright]
Ice cream before lunch
is my jurisdiction
Bedtime is hers
Sugar policy is hers
Whether the child can climb
the tree in the courtyard
that is mine
because the tree
requires someone
who will say yes
and spot the landing
and not mention it
at dinner
I am the department
of strategic indulgence
The ministry of yes
when the government says no
And the government
is fair
and the government
is right
and the government
goes to the market
on Saturdays
and while the government
is choosing tomatoes
I am four blocks away
choosing pistachio
[Verse 3]
Di co bao nhieu chau
How many nieces and nephews
does auntie have
The answer depends
on whether you count
by blood
or by Saturday
The neighbor's daughter
is mine on Saturdays
The cousin's son
is mine on school holidays
The child
at the boulangerie
who always watches me
choose the pain au chocolat
is not mine
but I buy two
and the second one
is the most aunt thing
I do all week
[Bridge — slightly softer, accordion leads]
The secret
of being a good aunt
is knowing
the difference
between indulgence
and sabotage
Indulgence
is ice cream at ten-thirty
on a Saturday
when the child
has already eaten breakfast
and the walk
to the shop
is the exercise
Sabotage
is ice cream at bedtime
on a Tuesday
when the child
has a test
and the parent
asked you not to
I do not sabotage
I indulge
and the difference
is timing
and the timing
is love
My sister knows
She was the child once
Ba ngoai was the aunt
before she was the grandmother
and Ba ngoai's indulgences
are the reason
my sister
became the kind of mother
who writes a list
on the refrigerator
and then hands me the keys
[Final Chorus — full brass, joyful]
Ice cream before lunch
is my jurisdiction
The tree in the courtyard
is my jurisdiction
The story about the time
their mother
got lost at the market
in Hue
and was found
eating lychees
with a stranger
that is also
my jurisdiction
I am the aunt
which is the love
that arrives
without a schedule
and leaves
before bedtime
and the child
waves from the window
and I wave back
and my hands
are free
because I carry
no list
no spreadsheet
no bedtime
just a pistachio stain
on my coat
and the knowledge
that Saturday
was a success
and the child
will remember
and the remembering
is the whole job