Pepper was served sneakily,
to us children 
boiled in water with cumin, turmeric,
and a pinch of salt, 
guaranteed, mother said 
to cure cold and cough
and prevent the seasonal flu.
Pepper, that burnt the tongue 
and insides of the throat.
Pepper, the fierce one 
of untold virtues  
always crushed 
to make sure 
it would not be picked and thrown away.
Pepper, travel companion
to be carried in a tiny pouch, 
an antidote for toxins.
And there was the full-grown vine
sneaking up an Arecanut tree
at a coffee plantation, 
bearing tender clusters of peppercorns,
just a sidekick of a straggler,
so good that it had to hide itself.