Clothesline. What occurs when words are stretched between two posts on a line?

Out to dry like a cormorant spreading wings? A rigidity that finds no apt skeleton? Is a poem more than laundry along a line?


You might recall your grandmother saying, “A good meal has a spine – supple with a relaxed properness. Never stuffy.” Everyone is paring wine with food. Don’t forget conversation.

Cardiac. Does a poem have a heart?

Can you tell the state of a poem’s heart by physical observation? What is revealed? Is less salt required? Increased exercise? Too languid? Need for the long walk and the stretch of muscle.


Remember, a meal that looked inviting. Perhaps, smelled so too, but in the taste bland. Disappointed. Needed a wallop of the savory. Of color.

Artichoke. Are some poems inherently thistle-like?

Prickly as the person who generated the words? Are some audiences/some readers also so.


The artichoke is eaten as a poem edited. Clip the points and still there is an edge to the taste. (FYI, baby artichokes are not the same as small ones). Slice baby artichokes, grill with lots of garlic, olive oil, lemon. Twist the pepper lavishly.

Odd. Is poetry inherently strange?

The reading of? The making of?


Of food there are a multitude of examples.

Architecture. How is a poem constructed?

Does each poem’s floor plan differ? Is what is seen from a window never repeated?


About food, meal & words. The same are used though results never repeated. Which is to say, let’s celebrate the carrot’s uniqueness.

Pigeon. Like pigeons are poems inbred?

If so, in a poem are the results as fluid and beguiling -- colorful and unexpected? In poetry, are we speaking of schools? Not flocks? (Actually, a kit or a loft).

Inbred food? How much of what we eat is family-influenced/dictated? As eaters/as cooks(perhaps as poets), what do we reassemble? To beguile. To make colorful.

Yellow. What's the connection between pollen & a poem?

Invitation to create: extended. Optimism as defined as possibility: imagined and realized (perhaps, not in the same way as imagined).


A meal full with the ripe (which is nothing less than expectation hopefully realized). Grating of fresh pepper (which is nothing more/less) than gratitude. Gratitude being pollen at the most practical. Gratitude in the aggregate not necessarily yellow/not unnecessarily yellow. Split and seed yellow peppers. Roast. Stuff with cooked rice & cheese & leftovers (as in cooked chard/spinach, mushrooms, walnuts, -- you get the idea as in a made-up pizza). Play is always the
best chef.

Fractal. How many facets does a poem reveal?

The exact number of words to make the poem shine. To want to be experienced again (and again) (and again). Fractally-speaking.


How many ways to use olive oil to good advantage?

Thus. Is a poem a poem if it isn't written?

The spoken writes with a firm & welcoming hand.


Can a meal be imaginary? A favorite food anticipated (salmon, for instance)
readies the mouth. Thus.

Silk. What's corny poetry?

Or to put a positive spin, what words are used to construct a poem lined with silk?




Silk foods? My mouth tastes silken tofu with garlic and a touch of heat.

Penguin. What's the connection among penguins, poetry, and parsnips?

Some consider penguins cute.
Some say poetry is elusive or artsy.
Some count parsnips problematic.

Comes down to perspective and prejudice.


Cooking? Remember penguins are food to some. Same is true for poetry.

Nails. What affixes a poem?

A dance of fingers on a page, across a keyboard? A (proverbial) stake into? Paperclip?

Or is a poem truly never fixed, swaying like a prayer flag? Wandering like a walker?


Food. Swirling. A spoon stirs soup. Mostly mushrooms.

Tarnish. When has a poem lost its luster?

Who holds the gauge? Who reads the meter? Who has the inside track on fashion, on window treatments?



Taste is a subset of fashion. Though sheen never goes out of fashion, it is the first to depart the fresh. Think fish. Is scale akin to rhyme?

Lean. Where is the final resting place for words which lean?

Punctuation?
Precipice?
Is sway the active verb of lean, or fledgling?


Branding aside, why lean cuisine? Reduced-fat poetry -- no thank you. Yet, a sinewy poem bejewels the page. And ear.

Cello. Can you determine the sound of a poem from its page appearance?

Perhaps, it comes to word by word. Remember words surprise. A particular letter following another can alter sound. Ask yourself, can you hear the timbre by looking at a musical instrument? Definitely solar plexus, the cello.


Jell-O, I loved as a kid especially the red ones w/fruit cocktail. A mixing bowl full of. Spoon it out – rounded by not cubed. Marshmallows – no. Mayonnaise – never. Jell-O should not be made savory. Some things are meant to be sugary.

Martha. How does a word become a favorite?

http://chapbookpublisher.com/500-shop.html
Familiarity. Repetition. A siren for a narrative. By the way, is the opposite of proper noun, improper? Martha, by the way, has her own stories – 60 of them. Brief though they be and somewhat poetry-like.


About favorite foods. Carrots, of course. Versatile and highly-hued. Cut into a purple carrot, you become giddy. Why aren’t carrots on that favorite list?

Parboil cut carrots and then shock them. Add cut mushrooms, red/orange or yellow bell pepper slices, olive oil, lemon thyme, more fresh lemon, twist of black pepper. A splash of vinegar is possible. Feta cheese compliments. Place on a bed of fresh spinach. Happy New Year!