The Inevitable Garam Masala

Once up on a time
A war broke out
Between the spices from the south
and those of the north
like a volcano.
‘We are the great immunity-boosters
and taste-makers’, said the cloves, 
black pepper and cinnamon.
Curry is dull and insipid
without us.
The spices from the north did not lag behind
‘Nobody can even think of 
making a curry without us’,
ejaculated  red chili, salt,
Coriander, cumin and aniseeds.
We exert a cooling effect on the body
and not a heating effect like you.
Seeing the war, the garam masala
interrupted very calmly,
‘Calm down you all 
The union of the south and the north states
Makes a great India
So does a combination
of the south and north spices.
Look at me
I am the product
of that combination.
Balance and harmony
is the secret of happiness in life
Without it, there is always a strife
as you between both
So give up ways uncouth.

Educated at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Hawaii, Sagar Mal Gupta earned his Ph. D. in Linguistics from the University of Hawaii USA. He has fifty-six years of teaching experience of English language and Literature in India and abroad. He has published four books of poetry in English and his poems have been published in a number of national and international journals of repute.