Grandmother Explains "Paprika" To Us At The Kitchen Table

the way she pronounced paprika
we imagined it a red flower,
colored very red by bearing down

hard on the crayon, a lipstick colour!
or a paper lantern at a party
or to be put in a jewelry case

with pink pearls in the topmost section
strangely gleaming.
paprika from foreign ports

part jewel, a hybrid star
punched out of a cardboard puzzle
to find out where you are

in a dizzy universe
can you guess? or is it
a beautiful dress put by

for a princess in disguise
all shimmer and net, we won't forget
paprika paprika paprika we

sang in our room outloud

dismissed from the kitchen table supper
forever forever we vowed to be "now on"
twirling and twirling like the jewel box

ballerinas
we knew that we were 
because of paprika, suddenly,

uttered like a magic word.

mary angela douglas 21 october 2016