Kristen Lindquist

Language Lessons

First, he pours the rice into the steamer, then rinses it under the tap, the milky water sloughing down the drain. At least five times, he tells me gravely, imparting family wisdom. Brought up on boxed Minute Rice, I simply nod without understanding why this rice, which comes from a 25-pound sack we hauled home by bus from the Asian grocery downtown, must be washed. Finally he lets the water settle over the grains, measuring the depth to the first joint of his middle finger. The potbellied rice cooker presides over his tiny apartment kitchen like a benevolent household god, exhaling its fragrant breath, its ephemeral blessings. The next morning he makes me sinangag, garlic fried rice, with little dried fish he calls dilis. Their delicate bones scrape my tongue, but I still ask for more.

like I don't know
they're talking about me
maputi

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About the Author

Kristen Lindquist is a frequent book reviewer for Frogpond and other journals, as well as coordinator for the Haiku Foundation’s Touchstone Award for Haibun. Her books include island (2023, Red Moon Press) and It Always Comes Back, winner of the 2020 Snapshot Press eChapbook Award. You can read her daily haiku blog at www.kristenlindquist.com/blog. She lives in Midcoast Maine.

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