Scampi Fries and Masala Chai
On those days when she’s feeling rather grey,
She’ll take her mind somewhere further away.
Pack those bags and off she goes,
Her mind a passport to somewhere less low.
A tiny dumpling in the Cornish sea,
Floats like flotsam till she’s called in for tea.
Hot sugary doughnuts await her onshore,
While a salty shudder shakes the wee one to her core.
Runs like a whippet through sunflower fields,
Dressed in striped tops and bikini bums till daytime yields,
Carried to bed with her thumb in her mouth,
To nighttime tales of Angelina the mouse.
Sent up the mountains in a toothpaste blue suit,
A Twix in her pocket, rosy cheeks like red fruit.
Meets a boy on the lift, whose name is Jean-Paul,
From then on she knew that French chic was cool.
The hotel lobby is neon, the city aglow,
She’s off for a bite before a Broadway show.
Pastrami at Katz’s or a burger downtown,
She dances down The High Line to Frank Sinatra sounds.
Lunchtime on the island, she darts across the sand,
To feast on summer rolls, the best in all the land.
Later, she drinks rum out of big brown coconut shells,
Dancing with the island people til nighttime says farewell.
An evening in Bologna, Lambrusco in her glass,
They sit in a piazza and watch the people pass.
It’s daybreak in Capri, their morning juice is Limoncello,
They feast their eyes upon, a young Italian fellow.
Carnival in August, a sea of yellow, green and black,
Jerk chicken gnawed on pavements, the ultimate party snack.
The streets are paved with party-goers, who never want summer to end,
Now she dreams of crowds at night and gatherings with friends.
Afternoon tea in Jaipur - the city that’s pearl pink,
Under silky shade at the Haveli, it’s a peaceful place to drink.
Masala Chai is another way for her to drink more tea,
For a clearer mind on a lousy day its Earl Grey that has the key.
Scampi Fries and Tennent's were what stole the young girl’s heart,
Drinking drams of Whisky with the girls now torn apart.
To chat with her nearest friends, she’d walk a hundred miles,
Till then she’ll armchair travel, to bring herself a smile.
Illustration by Caitlin Duncan.