Osmosed nectar


golden flecks of treasure, bits of sunshine

brought home from April morning by the dewy grass

where the stream running by soft beds, the misty air, and twirling cedars

cheer for a bountiful catch – all worth for the backache.

a run to Walmart in the mud

rewarded with lofty mountains of salt

ready to be drizzled onto the latticed layers of

exhausted aquatic residents crisscrossing between the waters of the Atlantic

now find a good rest into a capsule, this crystalline glass vase

nestled under the pantry. silvery eyes linger at the steaming dishes

from the kitchen, where Mom is slicing red chili pepper and drying them

under the very sun, half the country away.

while Olympics athletes yearn to change bronze into silver

I crave to see the vase changing its shade, from silver to bronze.

plump layers withering with hypertonic cells, an osmosis of seconds

or probably patience seeping in. Did three years pass? Alas!

the specks of amber-colored goodness flowing down the cheesecloth,

leave behind a whiff of nostalgia.

and thus, an invincible nectar is concocted,

ready to immortalize anything on the plate.

and give me the strength to overcome all the sweet and sour of life

by infusing all the flavors into the tip of my tongue

especially when it is tasting fish sauce.

--------------

Author's note: This is a small tribute to my ever-favorite condiment: fish sauce (or nước mắm as we call it in Vietnamese). In springtime back in PEI, I usually went catching smelts along the creeks and carried a bountiful of them back home. My mom would put the salted fish in a big jar, where the smelts would turn into a mesmerizing caramel shade. The more the fish sit in the salt, the better the sauce will taste. I've heard that some fish sauce are still good after thirty years, so count me in. After a year or so, the fish sauce is good to go. You can either strand it (but for the sake of your nose, do it outside and warn the neighbors), or leave the whole concoction as it is. Put some into a bowl, add some red chili pepper, and voilà, you've lived life to the fullest. Here's some insights: if you try fish sauce for the first time, it's like a love-and-hate relationship - it's either end or nothing. 

The photo above is of the forest in PEI where the smelt creek runs. It looks heavenly in autumn, with the golden birch and maple leaves stretching for miles. I haven't been there in more than two years, so I wonder if everything stays the same if I shall return. I do still hope so.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The other side of the hill

Image
 Viewing the Northern lights from the southernmost tip of Richmond The last time I clicked the "Published" button on this blog, I was sitting in a scorching hot room, with the sky still crispy blue outside. Now here I am, typing these words on a dark rainy night in December, where the closest I could see outside of my bedroom window was the white Christmas lights dangling in my neighbour's garage. The past four months have been an absolute whirlwind, sweeping away nothing but every bit of my breathe. In retrospect, thinking that I would have time to ramble here in the past four months was just an item on a list of naive thoughts I had at the start of second year - and there seems to be no sign that the list will end anytime soon... September started with a whirlwind - from Imagine Day (my school's grand orientation and clubs day) to new classes, I could never survive a weekday without sipping iced coffee on the 49 every morning. I spent one of the few last days before...
Read more

One iced milk coffee, please!

Image
Dawn in Hong Kong, photographed by two sleep-derived travellers  "Delete 879 items from all of your devices?" A black line of text appeared on the screen. The second I hit the button on the Pad image gallery to delete the enormous bulk of screenshots from my lectures and assignments from second year, it still hadn't dawned on me that I was two months into summer. My backpack sat near the staircase, with the haphazardly arranged folder still placed inside, waiting for me to pick up and sprint to the bus every weekday morning. Now that I wouldn't be taking summer courses this year, the passage of time was felt in every bit of my presence. Winter mornings rushing to catch the bus at the crack of dawn have been replaced with waking up to the warm sunshine creeping outside the window, the laughter of playful kids from my neighbourhood elementary school lighting up the day. A cup of lukewarm milk coffee on the rocking bus to get me through the first half of 9:30 AM lectures...
Read more

Black rimmed glasses

Image
  What a beautiful world we live in (until that one Chem final worth 60% of your total grade) "The sun is out!" The student sitting at the table next to me exclaimed as the first rays of sunlight flooded the upper floor of the Science Student Centre, where dozens of students were toiling for their endless rounds of midterms and assignments. I looked outside the large window facing the Nest, mesmerized by the ashen clouds parting to reveal the deep blue sky. My laptop monitor was glaring, so I quickly adjusted the light setting down to continue my frenzied pace on reviewing Anki flashcards. The sun could wait later, but suddenly one sight caught my eye: a BeaverTails food truck. It must have just arrived, with the staff setting up the area and preparing the cash box. Sure enough, within two minutes, I finished wrapping up my study and belongings and dashed out to the truck before the massive crowds of students trickled out of lecture halls around noon. The tantalizing buttery ...
Read more