Good evening, Poets!

Sanaa here (aka adashofsunny) to accompany you to the world of food poetry. There is just something about a good food poem that gets me going especially when Li Young Lee writes about Persimmons.

Which brings me to question, what are some of your favorite foods, and why? Have you ever had a particularly memorable meal, either for good or bad reasons? What are some of the cultural or family traditions that revolve around food for you? Do let me know in the comment section.

Picture courtesy: Sliced Tomato with Green Vegetables in Brown Saucer by Valeria Boltneva, Pexels. 

Writing about food can be a sensory experience that engages all five senses. By exploring various aspects of food, writers can create vivid descriptions that transport readers to the world of the dish.

Bread Soup: An Old Icelandic Recipe 

by Bill Holm 

Start with the square heavy loaf 
steamed a whole day in a hot spring 
until the coarse rye, sugar, yeast 
grow dense as a black hole of bread. 
Let it age and dry a little, 
then soak the old loaf for a day 
in warm water flavored 
with raisins and lemon slices. 
Boil it until it is thick as molasses. 
Pour it in a flat white bowl. 
Ladle a good dollop of whipped cream 
to melt in its brown belly. 
This soup is alive as any animal, 
and the yeast and cream and rye 
will sing inside you after eating 
or a long time. 

Ode to the Onions 

By Pablo Neruda  

Onion, 
luminous flask, 
your beauty formed 
petal by petal, 
crystal scales expanded you 
and in the secrecy of the dark earth 
your belly grew round with dew. 
Under the earth 
the miracle 
happened 
and when your clumsy 
green stem appeared, 
and your leaves were born 
like swords 
in the garden, 
the earth heaped up her power 
showing your naked transparency, 
and as the remote sea 
in lifting the breasts of Aphrodite 
duplicating the magnolia, 
so did the earth 
make you, 
onion 
clear as a planet 
and destined 
to shine, 
constant constellation, 
round rose of water, 
upon 
the table 
of the poor. 

You make us cry without hurting us. 
I have praised everything that exists, 
but to me, onion, you are 
more beautiful than a bird 
of dazzling feathers, 
heavenly globe, platinum goblet, 
unmoving dance 
of the snowy anemone 
 
and the fragrance of the earth lives 
in your crystalline nature. 

Taste is fundamentally the first aspect which is connected with food, followed by memory. The flavor of the dish can be described in detail to bring it to life. Consider the choice of words in Wallace Steven’s “A Dish of Peaches in Russia.” 

‘I absorb them as the Angevine absorbs Anjou. As a young lover sees the first buds of Spring.”  

Or one can also opt to engage the reader by including shape, color and texture of the ingredients. In food writing, it is important to use vivid language to describe the visual aspects of a dish. Consider the descriptions used in “Meditation on a Grapefruit” by Craig Arnold: 

“To ease each pale pink section out of its case so carefully without breaking a single pearly cell.” 

The sounds of cooking can also be a vital aspect of food writing. The sizzling of a pan, the bubbling of a pot, and the clanging of utensils can all be described in detail to create a sensory experience for readers. 

Picture courtesy: Grapefruit on Cutting Board by Karolina Kaboompics, Pexels. 

For Today’s Poetics, I’d like you to explore atleast ONE of the five senses in food poetry. It can be the taste, the texture of a dish or its aroma that fills the kitchen. It can be an experience you had while cooking for the first time. The choice is yours! Just be sure to let the reader feel something when reading the poem.  

New to dVerse? Here’s how to join in: 

• Write a poem in response to the challenge. 
• Enter a link directly to your poem and your name by clicking Mr. Linky below 
  and remember to check the little box to accept the use/privacy policy. 
• You will find links to other poets and more will join so please do check 
  back later in order to read their poems. 
• Read and comment on other poets’ work– we all come here to have our poems read.