By Afifa Shoket Kohli
Ever since I remember
I have loved chai.
There’s this chai my grandma makes
we call it kahwa
but I have heard many people call it Kehwa too
Mind you, this isn’t your usual kehwa with only water and patti.
Amma ji’s Kahwa is made in milk
You put in twice the amount of milk you need
It’s then boiled over for a long period of time
along with all the spices-
cinnamon, cardamom, ginger
everything is put in
and you let it simmer.
The kitchen overflows with the fragrance of the kahwa.
This is how I imagine writing a poem to be
you put in your thoughts,
your feelings.
You put in twice the amount, sometimes more,
till the final precious kahwa is made.
Writing a poem is
making kahwa for
people you adore
so that when they are served
they know how much they mean to you
Writing a poem is saying
I don’t know how to make Amma ji’s Kahwa but this is the closest I have come to it
Writing a poem is
too many words that basically say,
‘I love you’.
By Afifa Shoket Kohli
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