Koeksister Heaven

Homemade koeksisters at the venison feast
I have been telling Tiaan and Nici to get me
some while their dad wants soup, Tiaan says
if I remind him again, he shall never bring me
a koeksister in his life

Tiaan says that within fifty years I shall still lecture
him and his sister about hunting to find the hidden
stash of koeksisters kept out of sight until served
with coffee when they appear as if by magic, it is
a matter of life and death

I have been licking my lips for homemade koeksisters
for an age, the way grandma Alice made them, thick
spicy syrup with cloves, lemon rind and cinnamon,
dough twisted perfectly, taken from boiling hot oil
and dipped into ice-cold syrup

Then you bite into a sweet velvet explosion, a spiced
delight I cannot describe, I stole packets of ice-cold
koeksisters from the freezer at home to keep my own
secret stash in the bedroom, then sucked on them
all day long, enchanted by

The heavenly taste, to me heaven meant a place
where one ate koeksisters and chocolate cake
all day long…