Nupur Chaturvedi

Bitter, sour. My tongue has no taste.
Numb, burnt, rough.
I try to grimace, can’t hold it, let it drop
The look fades, and I
Eat, and wait for taste to return.
Insert a morsel,
Make the tongue play with it,
A dance begins, and ends.
Nothing.
I drink wine, syrup, coffee,
Again a tango,
But the dancers don’t meet.
Nothing.
Will it ever come back,
Or are my taste buds dead?