I am charting this life

A constellation

A topography of places I’ve been

I am doing this at 11 o clock on a Saturday night

Staining noodles in my kitchen

Slicing green peppers and remembering my father

It seemed he was always cutting veg

Mixing red onion, raw broccoli and chives

In big bowls with wide hands

Saran wrapping

Knife sharpening

Wiping down the wooden cutting board with a smelly sponge

It seemed he was always

Sliding round chips of carrot towards me

Sitting across the counter staring at a textbook

It seemed he was always so casual, so quick to

Flip flat hands, let doors slam

So quick to

Know a little about a lot

To say

When you cut a bell pepper

It’s best to slice in one clean swipe

The pepper from one end of its husk to the other

This makes it easy to remove the seeds,

The heart