food is love///family dinner

“Being raised in Philadelphia as a vegan-vegetarian in the 90s fostered deep and meaningful connections around family recipes and fellowship. With each step in this process, I felt connected to their memory.”

Words and images by nekh-t kara

food is love///family dinner is an experimental poem honoring the lives of loved ones who have since transitioned. Being raised in Philadelphia as a vegan-vegetarian in the 90s fostered deep and meaningful connections around family recipes and fellowship. With each step in this process, I felt connected to their memory. I feel connected to them always in mind and spirit. The meal is a physical manifestation of the unbreakable bond.

Spinach Salad
Rich leafy greens, dried cranberries, walnuts drizzled with a raspberry vinaigrette.

Each dinner
begins with salad
and prayer.
We give thanks to
the Creator
known by many
names.

These meals were
prepared with the
ancestors in
mind. A family
member. A
Southern
gentleman.
A first love. May
the memories we
share cover us in
the eternal
present.

Stir Fry
Tofu, broccoli, snap peas, carrots, and lightly salted cashews cooked in sesame seed oil.

Haiku for Baba

Tchet’s Surprise
All the ingredients in the fridge
Unified to heal.

Memories of road trips and conferences string together my thoughts of you. As we jam to the melodies of Stevie Wonder, you sing loud, proud and off key. We laugh at you. We laugh with you. We tease you. Your way of being. You never once stop singing.

This is how I see you. Modeling the way with confidence. Ignoring the whispers from the crowd. A conduit for transformative dialogue. How powerful a man to commit his life to healing. To the healing of others. A traveling diversity salesman.

We sing loud, proud and off key for you. Because of you.

Cornbread
Vegan

A.P.I.D.T.A

I saw Beloved One in my dream last night. We were on our way to his house///my apartment in a car full of people. I take the wheel at one point during this visit. Another person from the tribe is seated behind the steering wheel. We pull into the gas station and refuel. He and I hop out of the car and catch up.

He runs his hands through my hair.

“You got your grandma braids in. It suits you.”

I smile knowing he sees me in all my ways.

String Beans
Sautéed string beans with fresh ginger, garlic and salt.

Coconut Turmeric Rice
Jasmine rice, coconut milk, turmeric, curry powder, yellow onions and green bell peppers.

a lot

The fridge
Is
now
empty.

I have
no more
to
Give
U

Leftovers
cease 2
exist

I have
No
More
2
Offer

Your plate is
Full.

I’ll be damned
If
U R the only
1

Eating.

We always think we have more time.

We live for these sacred moments. Our joy inextricably bond up in the food we share with one another. Family recipes are remixed to mirror our evolving diets. This food is all about love. There is a history. A love practice in each meal that is prepared. We give thanks to the Creator known by many names. We embrace. We say our goodbyes. We embrace once more.

Until we meet again.

---

Words and images by nekh-t kara