this christmas has a different smell.
none of the pine quickened
charcoal fires
of a biting winter night
or the pork-and-mustard-leaf happiness
the stench of tribal feasting.
this christmas is lush
fed by a swollen river
and shaded by the broad leafed trees
of tane's mighty garden.
and try as i might
i cannot smell a feast.
note: tane is pronounced to rhyme with the 'ne' of the english word 'net'. tane is the maori god of the forests.
6 comments:
strangely nostalgic, and true. you ain't really happy unless you are pork-and-mustard-leaf happy :)
and, from where i am, sadly, i too can't smell a feast.
Oh you poor poor homesick guys. Living epitome of "You can take the boys out of the country but you can't take the country out of the boys." Well, you have your memories of the feasts at least. I mean things could be worse. You could have total amnesia about all Christmases past but luckily, that's not the case :D
@r: lol yeah! and the pork in the NE hills seems to be the only one really worth eating! while the pork in the pacific islands is supposed to be good, the much advertised NZ pork is rather below par.
@c: heh heh heh. quite true! i wonder if 'homesickness' grows with distance. i do not remember (often) missing home while in bengaluru or hyderabad. at least not so much the feasts!
poem is beautiful, as usual..
pork and mustard leaf sounds really very interesting.. we heard abt a lot of pork and local brew at the hornbill festival..
much thanks, gauri!
wow were you at the hornbill? never been, and i'd love to! how'd it go? pork and mustard is rather simple-boil pork and mustard leaves (uncut) together, with salt and ginger. can't remember how long it takes. need a nice fat piece of pork though!
connecting with the natives is see.
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