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Haiku Dialogue: What’s at Hand Week 13

 

 

Welcome to Haiku Dialogue — What’s at Hand Week 13 with Guest Editor Craig Kittner.

Let’s talk about haiku! Through June 26 we will see what 21 common objects can inspire.

Our theme for May 1 is an old flower pot.

Immerse yourself in the theme, then submit one original, unpublished haiku via our Contact Form. Please submit by Saturday April 27 at 6:00 pm eastern time. Include your name as you would like it to appear and your place of residence.

By submitting you agree that your work may appear in the column — neither acknowledgment nor acceptance emails will be sent.

I will select haiku that make good use of the theme and that are likely to generate lively discussions. I’ll add some thoughts below each week’s selections to get the conversation started.

Here are my selections for an exotic spice.

clouds and sultry
few drops nell’erba-
coffee and cinnamon

Angiola Inglese

 

memories
of a rain wet morning –
cardamom tea

arvinder Kaur
Chandigarh, India

 

smoked paprika
our hotel dinner
barely touched

Barbara Sabol

 

“variety
the spice of life”
opening her pillow book…

Charles Harmon

 

Marrakech Souk
beyond spice mountain ranges
Saffron sanctuary

Dean Okamura

 

mother’s soup
in each bowl
a star anise

Debbi Antebi
London, UK

 

turmeric
my husband suspiciously
looking at his risotto

Dubravka Šćukanec
Zagreb, Croatia

 

allergy season
I ask for extra
wasabi paste

Edward Huddleston

 

spring cleaning
winter feast leftovers
swept by ginger

Franjo Ordanić

 

a shared kitchen
some mustard seeds
for the bee

Guliz Mutlu

 

hometown bus station
the whiff of five spice
through every stall

Hifsa Ashraf
Pakistan

 

flowering sumac
bees busy with their own
exotic flavour

Ingrid Baluchi
Ohrid, Macedonia

 

touch of Sriracha
Asian fusion cuisine
in the group home

Jackie Chou
Pico Rivera, CA USA

 

her summer pasta
its subtle tang
a dash of saffron

Janice Munro
Canada

 

a well travelled friend
in the hollow of her neck
an exotic spice

John Hawkhead

 

Persian nights
on the tip of my tongue
the color of saffron

Kath Abela Wilson
Pasadena, California

 

voices before dinner–
listening
for fiery or mild

Laurie Greer
Washington, DC

 

the color of fire
on every plato —
achiote

Mark Meyer

 

open house
the realtor’s spritz
of apple pie spice

Michele L. Harvey

 

long summer
chubritza with tomato
on a slice of bread

Nadejda Kostadinova
Bulgaria

 

new bride
spice rack’s unopened bottle
of star anise

Nancy Brady
Huron, Ohio, USA

 

spring breeze
the cinnamon
on apple pie

Neni Rusliana
Indonesia

 

szechuan num num
sauce with those peppercorns
tongue numb

Paul Geiger

 

divorce application
her new recipe for
hot curry soup

Radostina Dragostinova

 

dad’s old spice
exotic
as he gets

Rich Schilling

 

metastasis —
bedsheets stained
with tumeric

Roberta Beary
Co Mayo Ireland

 

at dinner with a nabob –
a delicate exotic aroma
with a little saffron

Rosa Maria Di Salvatore

 

romantic dinner
those blue poppy seeds
between his teeth

Sanela Pliško
Croatia

 

turmeric-dyed
Buddhist monk’s robe
impermanent color

Sari Grandstaff
Saugerties, NY

 

eventide
I rise so slowly
from the saffron field

simonj
UK

 

saffron tea
grandma talks on
waxing moon

Srinivasa Rao Sambangi
Hyderabad, India

 

Spice Girls’ World Tour . . .
rocking out
as Chocolate Spice

Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
Fairlawn, Ohio USA

 

exotic spice-
water becomes
my best friend

Željka Ljubić
Šibenik, Croatia

 

Small doses enrich experience. Tantalizing the senses and calling attention to what’s before us. Inspiring contemplation, both novel and nostalgic. For what is exotic to some, is commonplace to others.

As with spice, so with haiku.

Star anise is too outlandish for Nancy Brady’s “new bride”, but a signature element for Debbi Antebi’s “mother’s soup.”

Tastes do change and periods of our lives can be marked by a particular flavor, can’t they? Like Radostina Dragostinova’s divorcee experimenting with hot curry soup.

And what about Barbara Sabol’s “smoked paprika”? Did the folks tasting that hotel dinner set it aside out of distaste, or because it inspired a different hunger?

The distance between spice and spiciness can be quite short, as evidenced in John Hawkhead’s “a well traveled friend.” Perhaps in Kath Abela Wilson’s “Persian nights” as well, but oh so subtle.

The headiness of spice opens us up. Makes us feel warm and satiated. Putty in the hands of a skilled manipulator like Michele L. Harvey’s realtor. Or, perhaps, a poet.

How do you respond to these savory scents? Please join us in the comments section.

 

Guest Editor Craig Kittner lives near the banks of the Cape Fear River in Wilmington, North Carolina. He has worked as a gallery director in Washington, DC, and a program director for the Kentucky Arts Council. He took second prize in the North Carolina Poetry Society Bloodroot Haiku Award for 2019.

 

Katherine Munro lives in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, and publishes under the name kjmunro. She is Membership Secretary for Haiku Canada and an Associate Member of the League of Canadian Poets. She co-edited an anthology of crime-themed haiku called Body of Evidence: a collection of killer ’ku.

After several years of moves, Craig Kittner has put down roots in the sandy soil of Eastern North Carolina. There the sunshine is clear. The climate gives rise to riotous growths of wildflowers. Birds abound, and the sky is alive with ocean breezes. Craig is content to walk the forests and beaches, gathering imagery for his poems. His work has been published in Frogpond, Chrysanthemum, Failed Haiku, bottle rockets, and the Autumn Moon Haiku Journal. In 2018, he had two poems selected as judges' favorites in the 5th Annual Golden Haiku Competition, and one poem selected for the Winston Salem Writers' Poetry in Plain Sight project. His first chapbook, Time's Sweet Savor, was published in 2016 by New Books on Front Street, an imprint of Old Books on Front Street in downtown Wilmington.

This Post Has 48 Comments

  1. I sent my piece late… and I was waiting to read the selection. What is life without food, spices and herbs?
    .
    .
    I like Arvinder’s elaichi -chai, it is a sweet aroma, and tends to stay put in the house on a rainy day. I connect to this poem of yours Arvinder, and yes, how the memories come flooding…
    .
    .

    And then the kick of wasabi, I think the one by Edward Huddleston, I know the feel of that kick, nothing to get the sinuses and nasal passages and eyes working full speed 🙂
    .
    .
    and this one had me laughing, because, every time I cooked for friends with turmeric, they thought it was saffron, until I told them it was turmeric, and then they were wary of anything yellowish on their plates…

    turmeric
    my husband suspiciously
    looking at his risotto

    Dubravka Šćukanec
    Zagreb, Croatia

  2. Rich Schilling’s

    dad’s old spice
    exotic
    as he gets

    Captured me with the first line!
    So true as to make me feel my dad must’ve lived a second life & Rich is my long-lost half sibling.
    Ha!
    Thanks so much for penning this Rich (and for selecting it for publication, Craig.)
    Much enjoyed!

    1. Thanks! Glad you liked it! I guess a lot of dads are similar or at least our perception of them.

  3. Thanks again for including my haiku! Struggled with this one but some of you seemed to like it. I’m going to have to step up my comments game after reading Alan’s each week. Always positive, insightful and even includes links!

  4. Alan and Simonj,

    Thank you for your valuable comments on my haiku. Since English is not my first language, I often face dilemma using articles and propositions. I’m certain Alan’s blog would be of great help to me.

    In this case, I thought of using the article “the” in L3 but dropped from the Idea for a different reason. When read aloud, I felt flow is better without it. Perhaps, grammar is more important than flow.

    Alan’s explanation is a learning for me

    Thanks

    1. Dear Srinivasa,

      .
      .
      saffron tea
      grandma talks on
      waxing moon
      .
      Srinivasa Rao Sambangi
      .
      .
      Srinivasa said:
      .
      “In this case, I thought of using the article “the” in L3 but dropped from the Idea for a different reason. When read aloud, I felt flow is better without it. Perhaps, grammar is more important than flow.”
      .
      Grammar is a tool, for communication and clarity, so we use it as much as we need, whether sparingly or placed where it’s needed, so it depends what you wish the reader to understand.
      .
      Is your grandma talking about saffron tea or about the current phase of the moon?
      .
      .
      If she’s talking about the tea, then perhaps some grammar such as this?
      .
      .
      saffron tea–
      grandma talks on
      waxing moon
      .
      .
      But the syntax/grammar feels awkward, and so I’m guessing your grandmother is talking about the tea, so perhaps…
      .
      .
      saffron tea
      grandma talks on…
      waxing moon
      .
      .
      Where the ellipsis […] shows both a pause but also a kind of negative space to suggest she is talking for such a long time that the moon has risen and is waxing?
      .
      .
      In fact if we remove the negative space aspect, revealing some of the ‘white space’ that many haiku contain as well…
      .
      .
      saffron tea
      grandma talks on and on
      waxing moon
      .
      .
      WAXING:
      The descriptor waxing is used for an intermediate phase when the Moon’s apparent shape is thickening, from new to full moon, and waning when the shape is thinning.
      WIKIPEDIA-Lunar phase
      .
      When you mention ‘flow’ do you mean musicality as such? If so, that’s important, but often we need to couple that with grammar. My Masters Degree Senior Lecturer really drummed into us that grammar was as important in poetry as it is in any form of prose. He’s very much a “poet’s poet” and I do absorb aspects of this advice for haiku, despite its extreme brevity.
      .
      .
      If the ellipsis was included, and haiku often contain humour, then the pause suggests both the negative and white space of someone talking for a long time without the need to visibly state this in the short poem.
      .
      .
      saffron tea
      grandma talks on…
      waxing moon
      .
      .
      The ‘flow’ is better represented so that the reader doesn’t rush into exhaling the whole verse as if it was just one part, one statement:
      .
      .
      e.g.
      .
      saffron tea grandma talks on waxing moon
      .
      .
      If we treated it as a grammatical unit such as a complete sentence:
      .
      .
      Saffron tea grandma talks on the waxing moon.
      .
      .
      Saffron tea grandma talks about the waxing moon.
      .
      .
      We see and hear the “flow” and there’s a clarity of syntax we can grasp. The first sentence suggests the grandmother is physically talking ‘from’ the moon, which could be literal or ironic. The second example we understand she is drinking tea and talking ‘about’ the moon. I’ve seen yellow moons (and red ones) so the association of yellow saffron or red saffron.
      .
      .
      Just a few thoughts out loud. I shall certainly not forget your grandmother and her saffron tea drinking by moonlight for a long time! 🙂

      1. Dear Alan,

        Thank you once again. The flow I was talking here is about the musicality and I did not mean it’s a long talk. Waxing moon is used as a metaphor for growing child in the womb. In my part of the world many people believe (especially older generation) if saffron is taken by pregnant woman, the baby would be bright and healthy (I’m not sure if science endorses this view). So, they encourage women to take it.

        I personally like your one line version of it

        saffron tea grandma talks on waxing moon

        Thank you for remembering my grandmother 🙂

        1. re:
          .
          .
          saffron tea
          grandma talks on
          waxing moon
          .
          Srinivasa Rao Sambangi
          .
          .
          Srinivasa said:
          .
          “Dear Alan,
          Thank you once again. The flow I was talking here is about the musicality and I did not mean it’s a long talk.”
          .
          Thank you! Although I am now not sure what “grandma talks on” applies to, unless she is giving a formal talk, discourse, or lecture on either saffron tea or as you mention, a pregnancy?
          .
          You explained:
          .
          “Waxing moon is used as a metaphor for growing child in the womb.”
          .
          .
          You wonderfully explain more:
          .
          “In my part of the world many people believe (especially older generation) if saffron is taken by pregnant woman, the baby would be bright and healthy (I’m not sure if science endorses this view). So, they encourage women to take it.”
          .
          There are many sites if you search, and one says :Doses should be smaller than 10 grams even during pregnancy” for instance. The search topic I worded is “saffron health benefits for pregnancy” and also includes sites on “Is it safe to drink saffron (kesar) milk during pregnancy and…” etc…
          .
          .
          You said:
          .
          “I personally like your one line version of it”
          .
          saffron tea grandma talks on waxing moon
          .
          Thank you but I’m not sure it reads well. Perhaps an addition of a personal possessive pronoun as she would have been pregnant in her younger years, and culturally may have drunk saffron tea before, during and after.
          .
          So perhaps, although she is talking about someone pregnant now, it could be that she is thinking back to her own time, and how her experience can benefit the current generation?
          .
          e.g.
          .

          saffron tea grandma talks about her waxing moon
          saffron tea grandma talks about her own waxing moon
          .
          or even
          .
          saffron tea grandma talks on waxing moons
          .
          .
          You said:
          .
          “Thank you for remembering my grandmother” 🙂
          .
          .
          My pleasure! 🙂
          .
          .
          I have an updated article about monoku appearing in an anthology later this year, but in the meantime this is still pretty current. 🙂
          .
          .
          One line haiku:
          https://area17.blogspot.com/2016/12/travelling-single-line-of-haiku-one.html
          .
          .

          1. Well, Srinivasa Rao,
            this is exactly what I am trying to understand: cultural and colloquial poems, esp. haiku and how they are read and deciphered by the international community.
            I cannot thank you enough for posting this. Environment, and cultural influences, do merit a significance, because when I read a poem, and many others read a poem, we not only take in the theme but also see through the open window of the poet’s world.

            What do we gain and/ or lose in translation, or usage of habitat- specific words. As an example: Banginapalli, when googled is a place, but going by your name and guessing your native language is from the south of India, I may risk hazarding a guess that you will understand this:

            the sweetness
            of childhood camaraderie
            Banginapalli…

          2. Thank you once again Alan. I’m glad my monoku written earlier found place in your blog 🙂

          3. Dear Pratima,
            Don’t know why but the system doesn’t show me reply tab at the end of your message, so I’m posting here.

            Thank you for your comments. Yes, you are right my haiku is based on the belief of South Indians and we understand it better.

            I love your banginapalli haiku. I’m from Hyderabad 🙂

          4. .
            green meadow the mother chases bare feet baby
            .
            Srinivasa Rao Sambangi
            .
            .
            This monoku has a delightful movement throughout, and in its many parts. It’s stunningly brilliant, and it shouldn’t work, as you could say ‘why not’ this phrasing instead:
            .
            a bare foot baby
            .
            or
            .
            bare feet babies
            .
            But tuck into those words and phrasing, get in between them, and have fun understanding why it gloriously works.
            .
            .
            Yes, I loved it and delighted it’s featured here:
            .
            Travelling the single line of haiku:
            https://area17.blogspot.com/2016/12/travelling-single-line-of-haiku-one.html
            .
            Thank you! 🙂

  5. I am happy to see my haiku included in the selection. Congratulations to the friends of these interesting verses.

  6. exotic spice-
    water becomes
    my best friend

    Željka Ljubić
    Šibenik, Croatia

    A great selection, coupled with creditworthy comments. Congratulations to all.

    I thinned this one out solely for its relativity. So often when sat in an Indian resturant we look around to see the different temperatures that people are experiencing from various dishes. Having enjoyed very spicy dishes when young, I now find more enjoyment in the milder dishes.

  7. saffron tea
    grandma talks on
    waxing moon
    .
    Srinivasa Rao Sambangi
    .
    I do like this… but it really really needs an article (a/the) to open the final line.
    .
    .
    On another note for all haijin, changing prepositions will nuance a poem in different directions. “On” works perfectly well in this case, but do experiment with some substitutions.

    1. Hi simony,
      .
      Interesting points!
      .
      .
      re:
      .
      .
      saffron tea
      grandma talks on
      waxing moon
      .
      Srinivasa Rao Sambangi
      .
      .
      simonj said:
      .

      “I do like this… but it really really needs an article (a/the) to open the final line.”
      .

      Alan:
      .
      If it was…
      .
      .
      saffron tea
      grandma talks on
      the/a waxing moon
      .
      .
      If an article [a, an, the] is added, then perhaps an ellipsis after ‘on’ otherwise it will read as if grandma is talking on the moon.
      .
      Although with an ellipsis is added, the need for an article might not be so much needed?
      .
      I’ve written a piece about articles in haiku on request:
      .
      The definite and indefinite article – how a house passes along the train of haiku
      http://area17.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-definite-and-indefinite-article-how.html
      .
      .
      simonj said:
      .
      “On another note for all haijin, changing prepositions will nuance a poem in different directions.”
      .
      .
      Certainly changing even small words such as prepositions and articles can dramatically, in a good way, effect a haiku. I have a mention about nuance in my Area 17 blog piece called The Bridge of Nuance, by coincidence! 🙂
      .
      .
      simonj said:
      .
      “On” works perfectly well in this case, but do experiment with some substitutions.”
      .
      Definitely! 🙂

      1. I didn’t consider at the time “waxing moons” (plural) does not need an article, but there is a naturally occurring cut after “saffron tea” so an ellipsis would confuse.
        .
        Talking on(from) a waxing moon would add a bit of whimsy, which is fine, but the talk on(about) a waxing moon is still there.
        .
        In experimenting I liked substituting over for on.

  8. Thank you Craig for another fine selection of poems and congratulations to all poets! My favorite:

    dad’s old spice
    exotic
    as he gets
    Rich Schilling

    Reading this one instantly reminded me of my dad. Thank you for the nostalgia.

  9. Dear Craig,
    THANK you so much for this delicious treat. So many wonderful contributions.

    This particular one is my special one.

    mother’s soup
    in each bowl
    a star anise

    Debbi Antebi
    London, UK

  10. Thank you, Craig, for another fine selection, and for including one of mine.
    .
    However it is spelled, and ‘tumeric’ may well be intentional, Roberta’s “metastasis” is a powerful reminder of how exotic spices have been known in ancient civilizations as having healing qualities, some of which we are only now beginning to discover and appreciate in alternative medicine.
    .
    I believe we have a lot more to learn from those ancient cultures, and from the dwindling number of people living in unspoilt, natural environments where plants, herbs and spices are part of their everyday living experience and accumulated knowledge.
    .
    On a lighter note, I have not found a good way to easily remove turmeric cooking stains once in contact with napkins, etc. Good for tie-dyeing, though.

  11. Sari Grandstaff’s haiku opened up my curiosity about monk robes. I had not thought of the origins of their earthy colours. I also enjoy how she links the dyes in the robes to impermanence:
    .
    turmeric-dyed
    Buddhist monk’s robe
    impermanent color
    .
    Sari Grandstaff
    Saugerties, NY
    .
    Thank you Craig for prompting such a sense-filled collection including words I know, but realize I was unsure about spelling, and others that I had to look up for meaning. And thank you for including my offering.

    1. Fascinating, as part of my Yellow Series, I note that Gamboge is a deep tone of saffron for painting, and other uses such as Buddhist robes.
      .
      Yet I read just now:
      .
      .
      “The monks in Tibet who wear saffron robes dyed with turmeric are said to redye their robes every year. Saffron is very expensive, but turmeric is an inexpensive natural substitute. Before wearing, rinse the dress in cool water only, to help remove excess dye that would rub off on you.”
      .
      30 May 2007, Paula Burch’s setting the dye in a dress dyed with natural saffron
      .
      .
      The history of saffron is fascinating, and I loved researching it to write numerous haiku, and haibun. But then most spices come with danger. 🙂

    2. Thank you Janice and Alan! Yes, from what I’ve read, turmeric is less expensive as a dye, so used often for monk’s robes, but fades with light exposure, not very colorfast that way. So definitely was thinking of that and the Buddhist principle of impermanence.

  12. Picked up lots of spicy info in an entertaining & evocative set. Thanks for including me, Craig!

  13. dad’s old spice
    exotic
    as he gets

    Rich Schilling

    This haiku illustrates how a product such as Old Spice becomes part of a culture.

    1. I’m certainly not a cook so I had to look at this a little differently. I did think spice girls but couldn’t come up with anything. Yours is great!

  14. spring breeze
    the cinnamon
    on apple pie

    Neni Rusliana
    Indonesia

    I can smell the cinnamon as I visualize a warm pie fresh from the oven near an open window.

  15. I am always surprised and pleased when one of my haiku is selected. Thank-you Craig ! Congratulations to my fellow Ohioians Barbara Sabol and Nancy Brady for also being selected.

    1. Ditto what Valentina said. I am always grateful and pleased if any of my haiku are chosen. Thanks Craig. In addition, it is a pleasure to find my fellow Ohioans on this column too.

  16. I really enjoyed this week’s set of engaging haiku (although I always do). I’d like to single this one out though:

    turmeric
    my husband suspiciously
    looking at his risotto

    Dubravka Šćukanec

    Can’t you just see him, cutlery at the ready, face turned down for a microscopic inspection of the rice – and the question bubbling up – “what’s this then”?
    Love it, haiku on a plate!

    Cheers Craig for another week of collected joy.

  17. So many wonderful ones here! Just a few that jumped out:
    *
    mother’s soup
    in each bowl
    a star anise

    Debbi Antebi
    London, UK
    wonderful–the mother awarding a star to everyone!
    *
    a shared kitchen
    some mustard seeds
    for the bee

    Guliz Mutlu

    this is a delight–truly charming, and colorful
    *
    flowering sumac
    bees busy with their own
    exotic flavour

    Ingrid Baluchi
    Ohrid, Macedonia

    another wonderful bee poem–I like the hint that we don’t know everything about this insect whose work and products we rely on so much
    *
    a well travelled friend
    in the hollow of her neck
    an exotic spice

    John Hawkhead

    a wonderful stowaway/souvenir–so much resonance
    *
    Persian nights
    on the tip of my tongue
    the color of saffron

    Kath Abela Wilson
    Pasadena, California

    so clever and deft! I really admire this one
    *
    dad’s old spice
    exotic
    as he gets

    Rich Schilling

    so nicely understated–yet giving the full sense of the person
    *
    metastasis —
    bedsheets stained
    with tumeric

    Roberta Beary
    Co Mayo Ireland

    so much here to take in..powerful and moving
    *
    Thanks, Craig–another great list served up!

    1. Thanks Laurie!
      .
      I hadn’t picked up on Debbi’s use of ‘star’
      .
      .
      mother’s soup
      in each bowl
      a star anise
      .
      Debbi Antebi
      London, UK
      .
      “wonderful–the mother awarding a star to everyone!”
      .
      what a great thing to do, but I hope no one attempted to eat or swallow them! That’s no way to become an astronaut. 🙂

    2. Thank you, Laurie, for your comments on mine and the others that came to your notice.
      Ingrid

  18. Thank you for including my spice haiku here. A wonderful collection. I especially appreciated these three. Spice Girls and Old Spice – interesting takes! And needing a lot of water to calm the taste buds, so true. ;>)

    Spice Girls’ World Tour . . .
    rocking out
    as Chocolate Spice

    Valentina Ranaldi-Adams
    Fairlawn, Ohio USA

    exotic spice-
    water becomes
    my best friend

    Željka Ljubić
    Šibenik, Croatia

    dad’s old spice
    exotic
    as he gets

    Rich Schilling

  19. metastasis —
    bedsheets stained
    with tumeric
    .
    Roberta Beary
    Co Mayo Ireland

    *

    but surely this is ‘turmeric’… with a play on ‘tumour’?
    at least that is how I read this amazing poem…
    thanks once again to Craig & all the poets for another fine set! kj

    1. Interesting point. Oddly The Telegraph spells it ‘tumeric’:
      https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/recipes/6223587/Tumeric-what-is-it-for.html
      .
      But yes, there may be a sharp humour in the invisible rhyme of tumour and “TUMERic” but we forget that spices are medicine, hence curry, for example, is medicine made into food.
      .
      Also turmeric can be used for non-food application:
      .
      Overview Information

      Turmeric is a spice that comes from the turmeric plant. It is commonly used in Asian food. You probably know turmeric as the main spice in curry. It has a warm, bitter taste and is frequently used to flavor or color curry powders, mustards, butters, and cheeses. But the root of turmeric is also used widely to make medicine. It contains a yellow-colored chemical called curcumin, which is often used to color foods and cosmetics.

      Turmeric is used for arthritis, heartburn (dyspepsia), joint pain, stomach pain, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, bypass surgery, hemorrhage, diarrhea, intestinal gas, stomach bloating, loss of appetite, jaundice, liver problems, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, stomach ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), gallbladder disorders, high cholesterol, a skin condition called lichen planus, skin inflammation from radiation treatment, and fatigue.

      It is also used for headaches, bronchitis, colds, lung infections, hay fever, fibromyalgia, leprosy, fever, menstrual problems, itchy skin, recovery after surgery, and cancers. Other uses include depression, Alzheimer’s disease, swelling in the middle layer of the eye (anterior uveitis), diabetes, water retention, worms, an autoimmune disease called systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), tuberculosis, urinary bladder inflammation, and kidney problems.

      Some people apply turmeric to the skin for pain, ringworm, sprains and swellings, bruising, leech bites, eye infections, acne, inflammatory skin conditions and skin sores, soreness inside of the mouth, infected wounds, and gum disease.

      Turmeric is also used as an enema for people with inflammatory bowel disease.

      In food and manufacturing, the essential oil of turmeric is used in perfumes, and its resin is used as a flavor and color component in foods.

      Don’t confuse turmeric with Javanese turmeric root (Curcuma zedoaria).

      How does it work?
      Turmeric contains the chemical curcumin. Curcumin and other chemicals in turmeric might decrease swelling (inflammation). Because of this, turmeric might be beneficial for treating conditions that involve inflammation. WebMD website
      .
      .
      Although it would not be accurate to say it’s ironic, there is a terrible poignancy and hope here. I’ve been watching the Great British Bake Off Stand Up to Cancer, and they always include one story. Sometimes there’s hope, sometimes it’s devastating that you find a loved one, be it child or parent, dies far too young, giving far more to people who are well and healthy for decades.

  20. I found it difficult to think of any spice considered as “exotic” as Britain has been buying/trading in spices even before the infamous British East India Company aka The Company which accounted for half the world’s trade since the 1600s.
    .
    So I decided to look at the verse responses in different ways.
    .
    .

    memories
    of a rain wet morning –
    cardamom tea
    .
    Arvinder Kaur
    Chandigarh, India
    .
    .
    The musicality of two different rhythm phrases made me really enjoy this beautiful piece, and who doesn’t love cardamom. I even enjoy chewing them in my food! 🙂
    .
    .
    a shared kitchen
    some mustard seeds
    for the bee
    .
    Guliz Mutlu
    .
    .
    This wonderful piece about sharing with our fellow residents of the planet reminded me of a bees haiku I wrote for the earlier incarnation of this feature. Plus, there were so many saffron verses, so this includes both bees and saffron. In fact I’ve written a lot about saffron via haiku and haibun as part of an overall ‘The Yellow Series’. Here’s the haiku:
    .
    .
    Atlas foothills…
    bees jostle pickers
    for saffron
    .
    Alan Summers
    A Sense of Place: MOUNTAIN – hearing ed KJMunro (August 2018)
    .
    Note:
    This was while staying in Marrakech, just a few minutes from the main souk, and overlooking the mountains from my top floor budget apartment, ah bliss! 🙂
    .
    .
     .
    open house
    the realtor’s spritz
    of apple pie spice
    .
    Michele L. Harvey
    .
    .
    The cheap trick of fake natural scent, be it freshly baked bread or other pretend homely smells and scents, caught delightfully in this verse, brilliant! Wouldn’t it have been impressive if real and fresh baked apple pie with cinnamon was on offer, now that would be an ‘open house’! 🙂
    .
    .

    metastasis —
    bedsheets stained
    with tumeric
    .
    Roberta Beary
    Co Mayo Ireland
    .
    .
    Tumeric has strong healing and curing properties so I often put a liberal amount in a number of dishes. Here Roberta expertly and poignantly juxtaposes the healing qualities of the spice with something that may or may not go into recession. Plus bedsheets are usually stained for different reasons and yet isn’t sex all about life/birth and death? Very powerful poem indeed.
    .
    .
     
    romantic dinner
    those blue poppy seeds
    between his teeth
    .
    Sanela Pliško
    Croatia
    .
    .
    The nightmare scenario of not being told we have something caught between our teeth until either an embarressing reveal if we look into the cold light of a restaurant or bar mirror in the restroom or back at home, or a motel. Here the author expertly turns all of this onto its head in a beautifully crafted and uplifting poem. Of course we could see a cynical side to the poem but all I want to see is an affirmation of love and intimacy in all its positiveness.
    .
    .
    A wonderful cycle of poems! 🙂

    1. Thanks Alan for liking,commenting on my poem. I am happy it found a place in such notable company. Thanks Craig for including.

      Totally enjoyed the takes on saffron ,turmeric. I have done some poems on these as well. Very symbolic,very evocative images. ‘summer pasta’ by Janice Munro,’Persian nights’ by Kath Abela, ‘saffron tea’ by Srinivasa Rao resonated a whole lot with me. The pain in Roberta Beary’s poem is evident and touched the heart to the core !

      1. Thank you Arvinder for the mention. The spice in your haiku, cardamom, is my favourite in the chai tea I brew on the stove in the winter…cardamom holds memories back to when I first tasted it.
        .

        memories
        of a rain wet morning –
        cardamom tea
        .
        arvinder Kaur
        Chandigarh, India

    2. Thanks for including me in your comments Alan!
      And yes, fresh apple pie for an open house would be ideal, but I’ve yet to experience it.
      It’s amazing how much of our world is affected and how many billions are spent on the artificial scent industry. Sadly most perfumers have embraced them as standard. Even the finest perfume houses, offering the most expensive perfumes use them. Most troubling is the use of artificial scents to manipulate mood. Car dealerships spritz ‘new car’ scent into slightly used cars. Apple pie scent has been proven to make a home feel more ‘homey.’ Vanilla scent is used in Ladies’ department stores to boost sales. It all happens below the radar and is done because it works.

      1. Unfortunately wouldn’t work on me as I’d smell the chemical undertones, and my wife would probably get sick as she’s chemical intolerant. I remember being in a taxi that had five or more moronically called air freshners (for cars) and he’s lucky I didn’t throw up on him. I felt worse than during fire fighting training with clean cardboard being burnt.
        .
        Everything seems to be so fake that the new fake just slots in.
        .
        I’ve sold a lot of properties in a past life, and didn’t bother with abusing the trust of the potential buyer, and that always won out for them and us. Just sheer honesty, no spin, no bull, or flannel.
        .
        I guess that was why I was bowled over by Greta Thunberg who tells it straight and honest but in a restrained and informed manner. How long will we accept and allow so much fakeness in our lives?
        .
        .
        You must put this up onto a set of cards and gorilla tactic place them at certain show rooms etc…
        🙂
        .
        .
        open house
        the realtor’s spritz
        of apple pie spice
        .
        Michele L. Harvey

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