Anti-seasoning.

Some folks are anti-seasoning.

Like, I have my limits with heat.

Generally avoiding confrontation

Between pepper and taste bud.

Ever avoidant, I timidly

Tip my tongue with a bow,

And a “how do you do?”

I don’t hate the pepper; I respect it.

But some folks are anti-seasoning.

They need to know what’s hiding inside.

No Lawrys representing

A confluence of unique identities.

No surprising flavor profile to

Challenge expectations. They say,

“The dish was fine as is.”

Never change traditional dishes.

Some folks are anti-seasoning.

They miss the nuance between

Seasonings like pepper and paprika.

All seasonings matter, until one spice is

Found absent. Rather than search for it,

They ignore it. Or crudely substitute, saying

“Why fuss over one, when there are others?”

Cumin becomes coriander out of convenience.

Some folks are anti-seasoning.

Quick to define a tastefully rich presence

As excessive. That flavor is too bold.

This spice is too loud. Those seasonings demand

Attention, both superfluous and unearned.

A once simple dish now assaulted. They say,

“Spice is fine, but why so much?”

Seasoning needs permission to exist here.

Some folks are anti-seasoning.

Seeking a world where their existence

Is at best a nice to have; is at worst unnecessary.

Resigned to taste only when guilted or shamed, and

Incorporate only when required. Even then,

Recipes and social pressures aren’t enough. They say,

“The light creates shadows where we eat how we want.”

The shadows leave seasonings exposed and unloved.

For something so enriching,

How can so many folks detest them so much? I say,

For something so flavorfully rich and diverse,

How can so many folks despise them so much?