Five Spices

Cinnamon and star
           anise, fennel seed; cloves, 
ginger. Sifting them I'm reminded 
          of how, in this world, one taste 
combines with another, or 
         splinters off; or returns as a thin 
stroke remembered by the tongue
         deep in the night, long after
 the last crumbs have been swept away 
         from the temple steps of the mouth.