LatinosUSA

I devour the memories of viands
and lade my belly with
the food I cook. Four years since
the pandemic numbed my tastebuds. “Smell is yet to return."
Says my aunt.
 
I fill her plate with a second helping,
hope she cannot guess my failure,
but burnt hearts are hard to hide.
She turns her head to the window.
Its frame is filled with floating yellow bears.
A balloon seller passes the house.
This adds nothing to the food or the fact
I cook to kill what has been killed to fill us.
 
Copyright © 2024 Kushal Poddar
All Rights Reserved

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The author of 'Postmarked Quarantine' and 'How To Burn Memories Using a Pocket Torch' has nine books to his credit, Kushal Poddar is a journalist, father, and the editor of 'Words Surfacing’. His works have been translated into twelve languages, published across the globe. You can follow him on Twitter- https://twitter.com/Kushalpoe.