Alongside Indigenous lettuce
round, aromatic fenugreek leaves emerge
from the warm spring soil.
We harvest the leaves
and are reminded of how far
these beloved seeds have come.
We thresh each leaf,
then slowly chop this tender herb
along with mint, dill, tarragon,
cilantro, parsley, chives.
We light the old stove, add olive oil,
and saute onions in our clay pan.
Sea salt and advieh–
As we stir
aromas of cumin, cardamom,
Rose, and pepper arise.
When the onions are golden-hued,
we fry the greens
stirring the herbs
with our well seasoned wooden spatula.
The chicken eggs laid this morning
now rest in a bowl.
Here we are, cooking in a yurt
within a floodplain,
temporal guests in this
home of the Awaswas, Mutsun, Uypi.
Far from my ancestral lands–
the aroma carries me
back to Iran’s kitchen,
space tended by
my grandmother’s hands.