Science  Write  Now

a pepper taught me to move through pain
that's a true story.
how do pups have friendlier smiles than their people?
in new york, dogs will still look at you in the face
and gesture in greeting
how quickly we lose the habit
returning from the island

I wonder too often what it's like
to have an island in my bones
rich spices, a confused class chaos
religions bumping into each other like
frazzled commuters

I wonder what it means for
both of us to have blood from
similar lands
and yet raised in soil
so different than our telomeres know

a masala of emotions, he once told me
I don't know how better to put it.