I loved this snap shot of a raspberry eating 3 year old. It gave me an idea of making a time line for myself with it being made of the foods I loved in that year. Melon at 4, mint choc chip at 5 and always. Carbonara at 21, frappes at 29.
I played about a bit and managed a few drafts in different forms including haiku, which was the only one about an actual food/drink as such. Probably not quite tweaked enough.
I love reading a poem that takes me to a new place and season. It always makes me concentrate. In a good way. Earth and roses. What a perfect description x
Love these poems Nelly, I really struggled to think of a poem to write about food, but after a bit of thinking I came up with this.... I don't think writing food poems is my vibe!! ;)
Oh I love this, the cadence of it. It made me laugh out loud and read it out loud to my husband who also chuckled. He sometimes roles his eye when I say oh you must listen to this poem. He appreciated your humour and his eye role was him agreeing about gurus. I love the ‘let’s celebrate our fat’ giving me permission to celebrate all of me. Thank you for sharing.
I loved the chen chen Poetry too 'fearless as a mango' I'm steeling this line for when I need courage.
I had a lovely time with this prompt it reminded me of my grandparents. My Granddad was a keen Gardener and my Grandma was a very proud Yorkshire women. Here is my morsel this week. I didn't realise that writing poetry could be this fun.
Yorkshire puds.
Summer care free days
With meal breaks that interrupt
Eating plums off the tree
And building tents
And digging holes
The shouts from the kitchen
To wash up and be ready
Not a soul would disagree with this command
The tiny table that we squeezed 7 bodies around
The roast beef, the mountains of Yorkshire puds
The JUG of gravy with more in the pan
The knowing that there was a grand plan for those puds
The wait
Oh the wait for everyone to put the knives and folks down
And to be told that you could get the jam and sugar now
You always wanted Granddad to be the one wielding the spoon
As he put a fill of strawberry jam, and sugar too
In the Yorkshire pud and handed it to you
Like a special prize
And the delight of all that jam, fat, sugar, love and care
Happy Friday all! I started writing about appetite and then finally let myself dive into specific food. Here is my little ditty:
What does it say / about me / that even / in my forth decade / pizza / is at the top / of the list / of things I love / to eat / although / the toppings / have gotten weird / or it’s cooked / on a grill / I am still / a kid / with a smile / and a paper plate / full of dough / & cheese
I’m the same with pizza, had a bad week my husband ask what we should eat for dinner. Pizza was the answer. It does help make the world a better place somedays.
I love all these poems. I didn't have time to do much if any writing but I did come across this lovely poem by Li-Young Lee about peaches, one of favorite summer fruits.
So I wrote an entire chapbook almost all about food and drink 😂 I didn’t get time to write this week but I thought I’d share one from the book and decide after reading everybody else’s poems which to share. I love using food as a metaphor, and as we’ve already had so many gorgeous nostalgic poems and summer poems I thought I’d go for this one as something different!
I ended up writing something that isn't about food, but eating, and how, when I am run down, like I have been in recent weeks, I don't fuel myself properly. I will be ok and I am getting back on track... so don't worry about me... anyway less backstory, more poem:
When I don’t eat well
Emptiness feels like regret
Forgetting I told myself this could not happen again
But when I am starving myself of care
I ration my rationale , replace it with short temper
Oh I so relate to this Lisa. I do the exact same. It’s such a hard switch to get to “let me make you a huge bowl of nutritious soup” as opposed to neglecting yourself more. Argh. Hope you feel better soon xx
I love them all, but that last one by Chen Chen made me laugh with delight. I'm trying to finish off my food poem so that it's not the usual first draft epic. Would your kids be okay with you sharing their poems (as you remember them)?
Thanks for sharing these Nelly! Loved the Chen Chen line ‘As friendly as a tomato. Merciless to chin & shirtfront’ 😆👌
A very tiny one here this week…
*Snack Time at Three*
I’ll always remember you aged three
For how you’d eat a raspberry,
One hole per finger, eight-nine-ten
Each into your mouth, then start again
This brought me a smile 😊
I loved this snap shot of a raspberry eating 3 year old. It gave me an idea of making a time line for myself with it being made of the foods I loved in that year. Melon at 4, mint choc chip at 5 and always. Carbonara at 21, frappes at 29.
Ahh so lovely! 💕
Oh, this is so sweet, Ange!
Oh my goodness. So adorable.
Great imagery (and shudders I hate the texture of raw raspberries)
I played about a bit and managed a few drafts in different forms including haiku, which was the only one about an actual food/drink as such. Probably not quite tweaked enough.
.
Tea - haiku
.
my stout mug cradles
the sweet amber brew within
steams hot liquid love
.
As a fellow tea lover I’m here for this!!!!
I love this! I wrote a tea haiku for my book too 😍☕️
❤️
Ooh, a haiku! Wonderful, Tamsin!
gorgeous
‘Steams hot liquid love’ ❤️ ☕️ Delightful
It’s winter here in Australia, probably would’ve picked something different if I was writing this in the middle of summer!
I open the tin, the scent
of earth and roses rises
to greet me, like I’m walking
through a garden, my hand brushing
against the leaves.
Then, the ritual of pouring over
the boiling water,
then, my hands wrap around
the mug of steaming tea—
life’s too short for cups—
and take that first sip of comfort.
I love reading a poem that takes me to a new place and season. It always makes me concentrate. In a good way. Earth and roses. What a perfect description x
So lovely. It really is a ritual of comfort 👌
This is gorgeous; really evocative ☕️
Love these poems Nelly, I really struggled to think of a poem to write about food, but after a bit of thinking I came up with this.... I don't think writing food poems is my vibe!! ;)
Who made carbs the bad guy?
What did the potato do?
Why is bread so glutinous
and cakes and biscuits too?
Why are we always trying
to cut down on the stodge?
The health gurus will tell you
it's to get rid of the podge
If we weren't meant to eat it
why does it taste divine?
Without my bread and spuds to eat
I will just drink wine
but then they tell me that aint right
Which pisses on my night
so I will tell them where to go
and eat my weight in dough!
Ignore the haters who tell you,
you can't eat this or that
and if you're tummy's round like mine
Let's celebrate our fat!
Yessss so hear for this!!! 🙌🏻 hooray to carbs 🥔🥖🥯🥐
This cracked me up, Lisa! 😁
I love bread and potatoes too!
Oh I love this, the cadence of it. It made me laugh out loud and read it out loud to my husband who also chuckled. He sometimes roles his eye when I say oh you must listen to this poem. He appreciated your humour and his eye role was him agreeing about gurus. I love the ‘let’s celebrate our fat’ giving me permission to celebrate all of me. Thank you for sharing.
“What did the potato do?” Right?! Love this, Lisa!
I love this - such a sense of fun for the stuff with the bad rep!
I loved the chen chen Poetry too 'fearless as a mango' I'm steeling this line for when I need courage.
I had a lovely time with this prompt it reminded me of my grandparents. My Granddad was a keen Gardener and my Grandma was a very proud Yorkshire women. Here is my morsel this week. I didn't realise that writing poetry could be this fun.
Yorkshire puds.
Summer care free days
With meal breaks that interrupt
Eating plums off the tree
And building tents
And digging holes
The shouts from the kitchen
To wash up and be ready
Not a soul would disagree with this command
The tiny table that we squeezed 7 bodies around
The roast beef, the mountains of Yorkshire puds
The JUG of gravy with more in the pan
The knowing that there was a grand plan for those puds
The wait
Oh the wait for everyone to put the knives and folks down
And to be told that you could get the jam and sugar now
You always wanted Granddad to be the one wielding the spoon
As he put a fill of strawberry jam, and sugar too
In the Yorkshire pud and handed it to you
Like a special prize
And the delight of all that jam, fat, sugar, love and care
cupped in your hand so no morsel would be spared.
Oh, I miss those precious summer days
I read this grinning wider with every line!!!
Mamie this is lovely, you captured that scene and feeling so beautifully ❤️
This is lovely. It takes you straight to the poet's p.o.v. and keeps you there. I love these lines:
"With meal breaks that interrupt
Eating plums off the tree
And building tents
And digging holes"
I am delighted that you called me a poet. Never heard anyone call me that before. It made my day.
Mamie, it’s a really good poem. I hope you keep writing them!
Gorgeous - its like a photo of feelings!
“And the delight of all that jam, fat, sugar, love and care”… makes me wish I had this experience in my chest of memories too. How wonderful, Mamie.
Such a lovely scene you’ve painted Mamie 😋
Happy Friday all! I started writing about appetite and then finally let myself dive into specific food. Here is my little ditty:
What does it say / about me / that even / in my forth decade / pizza / is at the top / of the list / of things I love / to eat / although / the toppings / have gotten weird / or it’s cooked / on a grill / I am still / a kid / with a smile / and a paper plate / full of dough / & cheese
I’m the same with pizza, had a bad week my husband ask what we should eat for dinner. Pizza was the answer. It does help make the world a better place somedays.
agree .. in fact I had pizza today!
High five for pizza today!
That sounds like a perfect self-soother. Hope next week is so much better for you.
Yes! 🍕 Pizza is probably the only meal I can eat multiple times a week and not regret it 😂 had it last night in fact!
Pizza is *the best* 🍕
Pizza is definitely comfort food sometimes. Tacos make me happy too.
Oooh, tacos! Yes!
So true! 😋
Oh, I like that!
Gotta run back home, since my babysitter needs to leave, but here's mine--I'm looking forward to reading the others! https://open.substack.com/pub/margaretannsilver/p/infinite-permission-to-add-lime-zest?r=2ghube&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
This is lush, Margaret 🍋🟩
Thank you, Ellen! 😊
I love all these poems. I didn't have time to do much if any writing but I did come across this lovely poem by Li-Young Lee about peaches, one of favorite summer fruits.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43012/from-blossoms
That's so gorgeous. I love:
"O, to take what we love inside,
to carry within us an orchard, to eat
not only the skin, but the shade,
not only the sugar, but the days, to hold
the fruit in our hands, adore it, then bite into
the round jubilance of peach."
How lovely 🥰
So I wrote an entire chapbook almost all about food and drink 😂 I didn’t get time to write this week but I thought I’d share one from the book and decide after reading everybody else’s poems which to share. I love using food as a metaphor, and as we’ve already had so many gorgeous nostalgic poems and summer poems I thought I’d go for this one as something different!
Salt and vinegar
I love you like a chippy tea:
a decadent midweek treat.
Your evocative scent
sparks flares in my belly,
warming my insides as I lick
salt tang from my lips.
Oozing with acidity,
you take my breath away —
I devour, I cannot get enough.
I relish in the residue on my fingers.
Clearly I cannot now think of anything crept a chippy tea!!! Thanks for sharing this one Ellen. I was hoping you’d play this week x
Love this Ellen 👏
I ended up writing something that isn't about food, but eating, and how, when I am run down, like I have been in recent weeks, I don't fuel myself properly. I will be ok and I am getting back on track... so don't worry about me... anyway less backstory, more poem:
When I don’t eat well
Emptiness feels like regret
Forgetting I told myself this could not happen again
But when I am starving myself of care
I ration my rationale , replace it with short temper
Become my own worst enemy, lose all empathy
With the woman in the mirror
Avoiding dinner, surviving on (s)crap(s)
When I don’t eat well
I remember all the times I have done this before
And how it never helped
And even though I know better
I have never prepared to change
So here I go again
Oh I so relate to this Lisa. I do the exact same. It’s such a hard switch to get to “let me make you a huge bowl of nutritious soup” as opposed to neglecting yourself more. Argh. Hope you feel better soon xx
Very true (and I love the use of brackets in this 👌)
Ahh Lisa, I think so many of us can relate to that ❤️ here’s to nourishing ourselves x
Doesn't happen now but it used to be I'd be so busy that the fridge would be empty and all I'd to eat would be peanut butter on toast.
I started on a similar wavelength but ended up with pizza lol. You’ve captured the experience of too many of us. Feeling this, Lisa.
I love them all, but that last one by Chen Chen made me laugh with delight. I'm trying to finish off my food poem so that it's not the usual first draft epic. Would your kids be okay with you sharing their poems (as you remember them)?