The Dirty Kitchen by Yan Sison

the smoke from an ombred white and blue tilapia

on the wok humidified the room

then i knew that the dirty kitchen has welcomed me hello

an overture

rancid, fishy aroma

lingered on the wrinkled brown skin

             a Victoria Secret perfume

descaled fish laid flat

on the broken coffee-stained white tiles countertop

             a Cavitenian decoration

the sage green bamboo ladle

grandmother held it like a whip

a power only she can conjures

             a petite statured magician.

Malabar black pepper, Pangasinan sea salt poured down

             a brown skinned alchemist.

i sat down,

on the table

             a cornucopia

worn out silver spoon

             an instrument made a sound

or rather

over time

             a music

i opened my eczema-d lips and churned the soup out

down to my non-existent adam’s apple

slanted eyes closed

Uniqlo shirt bigger

veined hands stubbier

i then became

             a child

Yan Sison is a poet based on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Some of his works were published in Pearls, a creative writing anthology.