Food Poems
Shema
by Primo Levi
You who live secure
In your warm houses
Who return at evening to find
Hot food and friendly faces:
Consider whether this is a man,
Who labours in the mud
Who knows no peace
Who fights for a crust of bread
Who dies at a yes or a no.
......
To Posterity
by Bertolt Brecht
1.
Indeed I live in the dark ages!
A guileless word is an absurdity. A smooth forehead betokens
A hard heart. He who laughs
Has not yet heard
The terrible tidings.
Ah, what an age it is
When to speak of trees is almost a crime
......
Steam and Seasoning
by Arvin Dassad
Tell me how to make this life delicious—
How to savor each moment with my whole being,
Every flavor an invitation,
Every note a whisper that tickles my taste buds,
Scintillating my senses in ways only you can.
An aromatic journey to reawaken my soul,
So that every bite feels like the first time—
Heat, oil, and sizzle—
The tender flesh meeting the heat of the pan,
And with it, the memory of something ancient,
......
You Can'T Have It All
by Barbara Ras
But you can have the fig tree and its fat leaves like clown hands
gloved with green. You can have the touch of a single eleven-year-old finger
on your cheek, waking you at one a.m. to say the hamster is back.
You can have the purr of the cat and the soulful look
of the black dog, the look that says, If I could I would bite
every sorrow until it fled, and when it is August,
you can have it August and abundantly so. You can have love,
though often it will be mysterious, like the white foam
that bubbles up at the top of the bean pot over the red kidneys
until you realize foam's twin is blood.
......
Fame Is A Fickle Food (1659)
by Emily Dickinson
Fame is a fickle food
Upon a shifting plate
Whose table once a
Guest but not
The second time is set.
Whose crumbs the crows inspect
And with ironic caw
Flap past it to the Farmer's Corn--
Men eat of it and die.
......
Steam and Seasoning
by Arvin Dassad
Tell me how to make this life delicious—
How to savor each moment with my whole being,
Every flavor an invitation,
Every note a whisper that tickles my taste buds,
Scintillating my senses in ways only you can.
An aromatic journey to reawaken my soul,
So that every bite feels like the first time—
Heat, oil, and sizzle—
The tender flesh meeting the heat of the pan,
And with it, the memory of something ancient,
......
Locked Away
by Evelyn Judy Buehler
Peter Perkins loved tasty pumpkin, in pies, in puddings and etcetera;
Which filled their house with tempting smells, so said his wife, Elena.
Beloved Elena was a splendid cook, to which fond Peter could attest,
With hand over his crimson heart, like rouge sun dyeing in the west.
The Perkins had a bouncy pet rabbit; and they called him 'Scamper,'
Like pretty, fall leaves forever flying, in hues red, purple and amber.
Frigid days had turned fragrant, and the friendly friends came calling,
......
Yayu's AI Takeout
by Yayu Uppsurya
Amidst the glow of neon lights,
A paper box, the dream ignites;
With greasy hands and hungry sighs,
We chase the scent, where virtue lies.
In hollow streets, the ghosts parade,
A symphony of choice displayed;
Yet hunger gnaws at empty bowls,
As plastic wraps conceal our goals.
......
To Good Health
by Evelyn Judy Buehler
Jack Sprat and wife Mary, lived in a glory of lemony, chiffon days;
Like maroon birds keep on singing, until the sunset, orange phase.
They were comfy and happy, like a picnic in lavish, emerald grass;
And had a black dog and a calico cat, like red Mars making a pass.
While Jack was a large man, his beloved wife, contrarily, was tiny.
They gardened after church on Sundays, as sweet time went slyly.
At the mauve hour of dinner, they enjoyed each other's company,
......
Yayu's AI Chestnuts Noodles
by Yayu Uppsurya
Under the autumn canopy, a story unfolds,
Of chestnuts and noodles, some thick and some thin,
With the rustle of leaves, the season's joys are told,
A simple meal where flavors blend in.
Chestnuts, gathered from the ground's amber hue,
Their tough shells give way to the boil and bubble,
In the kitchen, they soften, then glue,
Their richness to the pot, a subtle trouble.
......
