(A recipe-poem. I really did make this.)
Gather windfall fruit from unloved park
Detach red chillies from absent girlfriend’s plant
Chop onions from random neighbour’s allotment
Decant cider vinegar bought for the dog’s arthritis
Infuse with memories of my grandfather’s spices --
Coriander, mustard seed;
black pepper, fresh ginger
Retrieve rape oil from the fields no longer in flower
Counter the bitterness with just enough sweetness
Bring to the boil all thoughts of the year past
Simmer off excess regrets, reluctance, resentments
Store in perfectly sterilised jars.
Best enjoyed next year.
Published in Renewal, Limmud.
