"Lalita Noronha is a rare creature, someone who feels comfortable among the conflicting demands of art and science. In the Mustard Seed she fulfills the promise of poems on scientific themes, especially in the astonishing "Beyond the Cenozoic Era," ekphrastic poems on art and artists, and tender love poems. "The Python," one of the most amazing poems in this collection, beautifully demonstrates the power of biological description and begs to be compared to animalistic poems by Ted Hughes and Rainer Maria Rilke. "What I Ask For" is a beautiful meditative poem that draws from her deep knowledge of competing religious traditions. In this sophisticated collection, enlightenment is but a page away." - Michael Salcman, M.D., editor of Poetry in Medicine, An Anthology of Poems About Doctors, Patients, Illness, and Healing. "Whether discussing the process of passive diffusion or the pleasure of going to museums, Lalita Noronha writes with the precision of a trained scientist. Mustard Seed travels, from Goa to Baltimore, from Bethlehem to Rome, from past to present-always with a finely attended hand to guide the reader. It is a delight." - Kim Roberts, Editor, Beltway Poetry Quarterly