Aloo Ghobi

In the first hard year of teaching
I left you to the cooking,
Knowing on the grey A12
I would return to something good;
something worth the waiting.

But through the credit crunch
and quantitative easing,
Economic slowdown and the collapse
in the job market,
you took up with an
'unpaid placement' at the BM and the V&A
Staying with your childless
uncle and bridge
playing aunt in Shepherd's Bush,
during the week.

I re-entered the kitchen like an uninvited guest
Hesitant as a first-time burglar to
Find a cauliflower in the fridge
and some 'old' new potatoes growing roots in the
bowl, waiting for me.

My GCSE class going on study leave,
I bring their bottom, set, faces to the surface
,hollering the themes of 'Of Mice and Men'
for a Cadbury Chocolate Eclair:

"FRIENDSHIP" "LONELINESS" "POVERTY"

,as I cut the two garlic cloves while
the oil and butter and cumin seeds sizzle the
potatoes in the pan.

I say a farewell to that register:

Qazim, Matt R. and B., Abed, Robert, Joe, Habib, Jack, Shaun, Chris, Alex and Charlie.

Mixing the cut green chilli with the garlic, red cayenne, yellow tumeric, coriander and cumin

I mix with a spoon and watch the colours:
The fire flicker on the chopping board,

Before adding it to the pan...