Burning Sweets – Anuja Ghimire

jaggery melts on the once nonstick pan
I need to bind puffed rice
on medium heat, and my fingertips singe
flames too low, coagulation
cold water in the anticipation
of the slow burn of liquid sugar
I’m trying to get it right
on a turmeric stained countertop
shaping a festival in my palms
but a tradition falls off
a flower-rimmed dinner plate
all the weapons I’ve carried for love
fall on the countertop
even after thousand sunsets,
epiphanies don’t come quicker
I’d wanted every memory perfect
when I was the mother
but I can’t rescue delicacies
I keep mending stories
the endings of which are loose
even the spheres of my jagged sweets
aren’t golden

Nepal-born Anuja Ghimire writes poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction. She is the author of two poetry chapbooks: Kathmandu (Unsolicited Press, 2020), fable-weavers (ethel-zine, 2022). Her poems and essays have been nominated for Best of the Net and Pushcart prizes. She reads poetry for Up the Staircase Quarterly.