Ryan Keating is a writer, teacher, and winemaker on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. His work can be found in publications such as Saint Katherine Review, Ekstasis Magazine, Amethyst Review, Macrina Magazine, Fathom, Vocivia, Roi Fainéant, and Miras Dergi, where he is a regular contributor in English and Turkish.
This poem was first published by Storyteller’s Refrain.
THE ELEMENTS
Philosophers of antiquity knew
that the universe is composed of four
elements ordered for complexity
and arranged to hold all things together-
Biryani, which resolves into pieces
of star anise, satisfaction, garam
masala blending into unity
and buried with chicken in basmati earth,
Beaujolais in a New Haven backyard
that pours a breathy unfiltered ruby
redemption fermented from whole berries
crushed to release fruit and new life and air,
Osh tandir samsa dumplings in thick crust
lit by beef broth and belonging that
steams hot when you open them and
consumes a busy room, turning stone to home and fire,
Egusi soup hot and flowing into
rivulets through pounded yam and fingers
that work liquid into perseverance
and thankfulness by tears of spice and water,
And espresso in a round cup that fits in
my warm hand and swallows me as a sip
of promises kept in perfect balance
of aromas as everywhere as the aether.
© Ryan Keating, 2022
be:longing 