my hands will smell for days of onions, garlic
and jalapeños despite repeated washings after slicing, dicing
and mincing with my trusty lid-o-matic and plastic picnic knife
essential utensils of a prison prep chef in a concrete and steel cell-cum-kitchen

I love the feel of a ripe, juicy tomato
the fresh earthiness of chopped green pepper
the abundant aromas attack my olfactory senses
tempting and teasing my palate with anticipatory explosion of first taste

and in that moment I am awakened, enlivened, emboldened
transported from bland greyness of confinement to
full sensory recall of my essential humanity