Madeleine Lee (b. 1962)

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SELECTED POEMS

an excerpt from five spice

1 coriander

i europe

a small round seed stowed away
in the mycenaean battleship
as the soldiers readied themselves
for the rout of troy

on land it hid in the store
of the army cook as fires rage
on the battlefield and on his stove

the victors left braying
the seed left fallow
finding home on alien earth
in south west turkey
a taste of asia

ii asia

the new seeds in jute sacks piled on caravans
of turkish merchants
traversed the steppe crossed the himalaya
ending up in countless curries

2 cinnamon

a cappuccino in a japanese café
insists on the accoutrement 
of a foil-wrapped stick of cinnamon bark
in place of a teaspoon
as if the mere dip and stir 
would impart further headiness
of sweet bark in the hedonistic brew

a sticky bun is so named
because if you cook cinnamon with brown sugar
and applied it on a regular swirling bun
it would cause it to become quite stuck
to your saturday morning hands

3 cumin

i

from ancient sumeria the gamun
dispersed throughout syria and persia
and found its way into biblical aftertaste
in isaiah old and matthew new
the romans rejecting the teaching
imbibed the pleasures of the tummy calming seeds
if only there was such a simple tasteful solution today

princess

the entrance to the channel
innocuous enough
says on the sign the princess
is related to the grape vine
its small black fruit
a fix for rheumatism and diabetes

entering with extended arms
outstretched palms eyes closed
i negotiate the six canopies
what future lies in my hands
drawn by the fine vine roots
starting at the life line at the wrist
moving up to the head line
across the heart line towards
every fingertip traces the past
feels the future in my grip

when it stops eyes open to
prehistoric tiger orchid on the left
red saga in front and on the right
jelutong flowers on the tarmac
like thousands of asterisks

by Madeleine Lee
from flinging the triplets (2015)

 

SELECTED POEMS: an excerpt from “after the rain” >