Experimental Cooking
I add a splash of California wine
to the volcanic brine of the fava beans
and they relax their waft of cumin
to chime an octave lower
like faraway damp forest floors.
I pass by your door where I hear
the whale of your larynx rumble home.
I turn down the grill to make time.
I read a page. The chicken smells of summer.
Speckled with carrots, marjoram,
the rice sits thick and bucolic
holding the heat and flavour ready
in its polar bear belly for you.
* Valerie Melichar has recently moved back to Vienna after studying in Norwich and Newcastle, which was smashing.
