The man with illustration-style tattoos
on his inner arm and a skin-tight woolly hat
on his head runs a spicy sauce company.
He knows how to mix jalapeños with pineapples
and habaneros with lime and mongos.
The guy standing next to him runs a curry business
that makes the tastiest onion bhajis.
I’m in front of both of them today at a food market
trying the free taster they just gave me
of their homemade Onion Bhaji Hot Sauce
We basically liquidised his onion bhajis
with a few of my chilli peppers,
says the tattooed man. It tastes like a friendship
whizzed up in a blender. I’m holding my son
wondering how to teach him to let people in.

© Carl Burkitt 2023