Recipe

I used to write about food.
After that night
we had that first
big below-the-belt fight
and you challenged me
to make it-
writing,
a submission.

I took the shriveled passion-fruit
and placed them on the kitchen table.
Admiring the small brown cluster
with the tip of my pen
I finely drew out
a likeness
that read-
pink, tender, more seeds than pulp
and nearly dry
inside.

I made something
delicious and tart.

Anyway,
that is how and where the disease
began simmering,
one organ after another
changing tune in time.
It was then-remember-
I renamed
myself, mostly taking away
nourishment,
and then adding a healthy dose
of humility
garnished with a twist of fate.

The paper folded,
and I was told
you may have to wing it
from here.

It is wise to always start
by pre-heating the oven
and a word of warning,
it often makes too much
so I suggest
mixing in small batches,
or halving...

Love,
you will like making this
too-
Ease back in,
cook until the juices run clear,
take small frequent bites,
use salt for wounds sparingly,
smell before tasting,
don't look at the date,
trust your senses,
and know-
most ingredients
may be substituted
in a pinch.

Although
practice makes no promises,
it only becomes sustenance
if you can make it
again and again.







Painting by Peter Jacob Horemans (1700-1776), Still life c. 1774 in Public domain.

Growth

The poet steps away from the poem(s)
but feels
the groundwater trickle
nourishing the green.




Painting By Fyodor Vasilyev (1850—1873) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Watering wants

Starting with a seed
that has broken its hull
which contains all spores
solidified
which is the same as
visualizing the details

And so where to sow is also
of grave significance
to its future growth.
The miracle is in waiting
and forgetting
you are waiting
this is the cultivation
of fertilization.

Nor will you know
where or when or how
until there are disturbing signs
of a breakthrough below,
still too slow
to see move-ment

Lightly,
nourish the belief
that wishes dig deep
and are just enough
to support the heights and weight
of multi-layered wants and
buried wishes
that may flourish
or become part of more
starting with a seed...



Painting By Целебровский, Пётр Иванович (1859-1921) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.