The Queen of Our Kitchens

Verselove is a community celebration of poetry in April—an invitation to write, read, and reflect together. You’re welcome to write a poem a day or to come and go as you need. Reading and leaving a brief note—a line you loved, an image that stayed, a feeling a poem stirred—is also a meaningful way to participate. This is a generous, low-pressure space. We’re glad you’re here.

Our Host

Kratijah lives in Mauritius, where she teaches English Language Acquisition and Language & Literature at Le Bocage International School. She is passionate about nurturing confident communicators and thoughtful readers through meaningful engagement with language and texts. 

Kratijah is also a dedicated poetry writer who believes deeply in the power of words to capture identity, emotion, faith, and lived experience. Through her own writing, she explores reflection, resilience, and the beauty found in everyday moments. She brings this passion into her classroom, encouraging students to experiment with voice, imagery, and perspective in both spoken and written forms, and to see language as a tool for authentic self-expression.

Outside the classroom, she finds joy in the kitchen, where experimenting with recipes becomes another form of creativity. Whether refining a family dish or trying something new, she appreciates the patience, balance, and imagination that both cooking and teaching require. As an island girl she also likes beaches and swimming. 

Inspiration 

Spices are small but powerful. A pinch can change the entire flavour of a dish. They linger, stain, warm, and sometimes burn. Even when sealed away, their scent remains.

The thoughts that return to us are like spices.

Each one flavours the mind differently — some sharp, some comforting, some overwhelming. No matter how we try to ignore them, they rise again, filling the air of our thoughts.

Spices add flavours and smells that bring back memories

This idea is inspired by the novel Like Water for Chocolate, where cooking, emotions, and memories become deeply intertwined, and the flavours of a dish can carry the feelings of the person who prepares it.

Process

A free verse poem is a form of poetry that does not follow a strict pattern of rhyme, rhythm, or structure. Instead of rules, it allows the writer to move freely between ideas, images, and emotions. Lines can be long or short, and they can break wherever the writer feels the thought naturally pauses. The rhythm often comes from the writer’s voice and the feeling behind the words.

Like working with spices, free verse invites experimentation. A pinch of imagery, a dash of memory, and a sprinkle of emotion can transform simple words into something vivid and meaningful. Some lines may be sharp like pepper, others warm like cinnamon, or comforting like a familiar family recipe. Each poem becomes its own blend, unique to the writer.

Choose one “spice” to guide your writing today, and let it season your free verse poem as your thoughts move freely across the page. It could bring back memories from your childhood, the warmth of a grandma’s special recipe, the familiar aromas drifting from your mother’s kitchen, or a soulful dish created and shared with a friend.

Kratijah’s Poem

The Queen of our Kitchen 

The pot simmered enrobing the whole house with its aroma
But before that was just a pot- flat, a story half-told,
Until she reaches for the masala (spice) jars
To make her concoction bold
She doesn’t measure by the silver spoon;
She measures by the shadow of her thumb.
A pinch of cinnamon and cardamom for some sweetness
Reminding me of the warmth of her lap,
A dash of cloves as sharp as advice she gives,
And black pepper-
The king of spices for the Queen of our heart!
Some roasted cumin also hits the surface like a golden dust,
A secret language only the bubbles understand.
The room suddenly wakes up—
There is a slow dance happening
All the spices are happily dancing in the pan
Jiggling and popping and ‘Hmmm’
A whiff of this melody and the world is balanced;
The bitterness of the day meets the sweetness of her smile.
I taste the years I’ve eaten to my heart’s fill in every spoonful,
A memory my mother ensured she created
And relegated through her garam masala.
A combination of spices to warm our hearts and
Flavour her curries, stews and meats!
The final whisper of spices, the closing note of her cooking,
A fragrant curtain falling gently over the story in the pot.

Your Turn

Now, scroll to the comment section below to write your own poem. (This is a public space, so you may choose to use only your first name or initials depending on your privacy preferences.) Not ready? That’s okay. Read the poems already posted for more inspiration. Ponder your own throughout the day. Return later. And, if the prompt does not work for you, that is fine. All writing is welcome. Just write something. Oh, and a note about drafting: Since we are writing in short bursts, we all understand (and even welcome) the typos and partial poems that remind us we are human and that writing is always becoming. If you’d like to invite other teachers to write with us, tell them to subscribe. Also, please be sure to respond to at least three writers.