Sanjana Nair
Tincture
STEP I
Of alcohol, a wife must a balm make. This is not 21st century stuff.
This is older than the Sikh grandmother of a now-old, old lover.
She was always with flask, ever a sharp tongue. Take this tongue.
Take that. Add three, grey hairs of one Sikh grandmother,
a teaspoon of dirt from each of my 21-year-old, potted jasmines
and one cup of finely ground, used coffee. Add honey to sweeten,
at will. Mix. Allow to rest, but only for a moment.
This tincture will be up growing, moving, for days, weeks.
STEP II
No matter when the tincture was born, wait for the closest full moon
to wane before shaking mixture. Consider age and wisdom and experience.
Tell a wife whom to kill? Determine if tradition is admirable, habit
or outdated. Add these thought nine days after shaking the mixture.
Revisit daily for the gestation of a month in which a baby may or may not
be made. Consider each possibility: These thoughts 21st century
endangered. Place the tincture in a dark, hidden place.
Be certain that every good tincture deserves a good secret.
STEP III
Secure a piece of turquoise silk, preferably of a mother now departed,
preferably of Indian origin. Drain tincture through this into
a dark purple glass jar (paint may be used if glass color is unavailable).
Consider using what is left in the silk for the garden.
It is not suitable for human consumption. Some name this bad Soju
but it is actually good Juju. Purchase a brass flask to carry on the hip.
Maintain levels daily: One teaspoon female, two teaspoons daughter,
three teaspoons wife, the whole damn flask for mothers.
Grandmothers may consume at will.
Sanjana Nair’s poems have appeared in Painted Bride Quarterly, Spoon River Poetry Review, Fence Magazine, JuxtaProse Literary Magazine, and The Equalizer, among other publications. “The Lady Apple,” her collaboration between poet and composer, was performed at Tribeca’s Flea Theater and featured on NPR’s Soundcheck. Nair lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter, and is a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY).
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