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James Norcliffe

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easy Thai cooking

the canned rambutans
are stuffed with pineapple

the syrup is as thin and sweet
as the waitresses with their
thin legs and sweet smiles
who hover nervously while
waiting for the puzzling orders

the television on the wall is loud
with primary colours and kickboxing

our waitress is very pregnant
I wonder about the effect of hot
chilli prawns on the unborn child

and I remember the way you would
take my hand and place it on the white
bowl of your belly to feel the fish-nibble
butting of our babies’ fists and feet

there is a necessary breeze from the fan
which lifts your hair slightly and fills
the room with lemongrass and garlic

and all at once the world is a place
of billowing and bulling as sharp
and sweet briefly as the crisp chili
catfish with the tamarind sauce

expert with chopsticks I watch as you
carefully pick out all of your slippery
button mushrooms to put on my plate

it makes me smile and reach out
and the waitress hurries over
to ask if I need anything else

 

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