Kitchen confessions.


The collars of containers wear the blame of privilege,
Stacked high in roof-touching cabinets,
Housing the finest, untouched for everyday hands.
Coriander wilts over sprouted grains,
While the canister rusts with forgotten horse grams.
Chickpeas and kidney beans grow restless,
Crowded into a tin of quiet rivalries.


Cinnamon and cardamom build their citadel,
Bayleaf watches with a wary eye,
And clove rolls away, unmindful of hierarchies.
Gajar ka halwa and pulao sit in quiet discord,
Pav bhaji is not denouncing barfi but looking for justice,
Each waiting for a moment to outshine the other.
In the stillness, the bangles fall silent,
And the utensils gather,
A muted witness to hunger unspoken.

: Vedhase/stefilnova.

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