I am no poet nor am I the son of a poet. I have never studied poetry, in any substantive way, and I claim to know little-to -nothing about the different types of meters, styles, etc. Yet, I have impulsively promised to you with a poem on food this week, and it is delivery that I have attempted. I will say that I am good with food, so I assumed, perhaps foolishly, that I would be good if poetry and food were combined. Quickly, I learned that having the relative capacity to enjoy a good meal does not mean that you know how to express your thoughts about it in any effective or artful way. Yet, my vow to deliver has been given, and so, here is my ode to food. All of the food listed, excepting the collard greens, are the kinds of stuff my wife currently cooks. The collards are a link to my childhood in Mississippi where we would pick them from beside the woods and take them home where they would be lovingly prepared and eaten. It is my hope that, as you read on, you will get a feel for my own table and what kind of food shows up there.
The Center
Cabbage and carrots shredded in piles
Potatoes and eggs on the 4th of July
Parmesan and croutons named for a tyrant
Lettuce and tomato heaped on a plate
With dressing poured like lava
To make us fat.
Angel rolls one per hand
Steaming wheat from the oven
Sourdough torn and dipped
A loaf from France sprinkled with garlic
Mounds of yellow heaped on top
To make us fat.
Collard greens rise from the South
Black-eyed peas sing in the mouth
Mashed spuds covered in cheese
Refried beans cooked in bacon grease
Each one baptized in salt
To make us fat.
Spinach lasagna with ricotta
Beef roast 8 hours in the pot
A rack to eat without a fork
Fennel and cream on flattened pork
Seconds added to each platter
To make us fat.
Olives planted around the sides
The vine laughing at the end
The king seated at the head
Merry making wine in the middle
Grace given from the Creator
To make us fat.
“My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips.” ~ Psalm 63:5
<>
