haiku. How will tomorrow's special meal honor haiku?

haiku, of course, being the precocious & handsome tuxedo kitty. haiku moved in with me 9 years ago tomorrow.

And the food? Either cracked crab or sushi. haiku will have neither. Extra treats will be given. Hats will not be worn. And probably a poem begun -- celebratory for sure.

Winter Fruit Salad. How does WFS inspire a poem?

Color & naming. So let's name -- kiwi, fuyu persimmon, raspberries. Add sliced avocado. Yes, avocado -- I'm not joking.

What a riot of color & taste. Much what an engaging poem provides.

Healthy, too.

And surprise -- seeing the inside of a poem. Cut into the kiwi -- surprise & delight.

Longest line of poetry. How is the longest line of poetry you've ever written akin to the longest meal you've enjoyed?

Let's assume both positive (as in enjoyable) experiences. & how is enjoyable so much like enjambment? Thus, a seemingly short line grows long and perhaps circuitously interesting.

A line of poetry becomes long when one syllable added to the next. Words beget words.

Once I wrote a line consisting of 21 words. &, no, it was not a one line poem.

I have frequently enjoyed meals of 3 hours or more when the conversation was akin to enjambment.

Sweet. When is a poem unexpectedly sweet?

When it resembles a multi-rice salad with persimmons, roasted pecans, and cranberries infused with pomegranate juice. Savory & sweet. Poem like the salad whose name it bears, yummy & shareable.

Green beans. Do green beans inspire a straight-forward poem?

Depends upon how the green beans are prepared. Steamed & nude, green beans inspire a straight forward poem. Although it might be one of those quirky internal landscape pieces. Stridently short.

So, on this Thanksgiving green beans were eaten thus plain and there was celebration for WHILE EATING OYSTERS.

& the table extended hardy gratitude to Bob Heman of CLWN WR BKS, Brooklyn.

Turkey. What connection between turkey and a grateful poem?

How many pounds is the turkey?
How many people around the table?
How many didn't know each other well before this gathering.
How many changed their opinions? Their truth?

Here's a truth all (well, most) can agree -- leftover turkey results in meals for least 2 days.

THIS MORNING w/TURKEY GRATITUDE aka turkey tacos

turkey cubed
pumpkin seeds
1/2 avocado diced
roasted tomatoes
TJ's corn & chili salsa -- some
queso fresco cubed
black pepper
corn tortillas -- roasted

Thanks, Ann!

Piquillo. What does this pepper & poetry share?

In one word -- surprise. Need more?

Not what you were expecting.

Then again, perhaps you didn't know what you were expecting.

Perhaps, the poem didn't either.

Perhaps, neither of your knew it took roasting to make what happened, happen.

Thanksgiving food. What is a grateful poem?

Which came first?

Food or the poem grateful for?

Pomegranate. Are the seeds in a pomegranate akin to the punctuation in a poem?

In terms of numbers, unlikely. Unlikely there would be 613 marks of punctuation in a poem. Unless an epic. Unless a ballad. Unless one gigantic poem spilling an entire book of more than (say) 24 pages

and yet, I do think
a pomegranate
with seemingly
613 seeds, mostly
edible, mostly
there
does indeed
shepherd
breath
particular
as all fruit
does
to wings

Roasting tomatoes. While roasting tomatoes what did she discover about poetry?

The common becoming uncommon. Smitten by the simple -- somewhat plotless. Somewhat alluring. Braiding the opposites -- ripe & minimal.

Growing up in Jersey, she thought she knew all she needed to know about tomatoes -- bulbous, fleshy, juicy. Then, she came upon the petite zebra stripe. Oh my. Green & ripe. No need to batter & fry.

Tomatoes. Tomatoes are ubiquitous and grand much like poetry, no?

Yes.

So many varieties to the varietals -- shape, size, color. Some painted as a Bonnard sunset/sunrise.

Poetry is a kind of legal, ingestible nightshade.

Habit forming.

Necessary.

Yummy.

Roasted persimmons. Are persimmons the perfect fruit to roast in anticipation of writing a poem?

Yes.

Any questions?

Answers can be found in multiple places. Beside the kitchen, the constellations are a fine & ripe jumping-off place.

Sake. How is sake akin to a fountain pen?

Both
in the pursuit of pleasure -- poetry & libation.

But let's begin with definition. Do I mean sake the drink? Or sake the Japanese salmon which I have enjoyed for dinner & lunch recently.

Both.

& the pleasure of writing with a fountain pen while remembering the taste of sake.

Both.

Cooking. How is cooking similar to writing a poem?

Both come down to process. & discovery. Take the known and make a little something heretofore, unknown.

Simple as roasting persimmons. Roasting pears. Actively pursuing the ripe, she picks up the well-worn fountain pen.

Pumpkin curry. Why is poetry scary to some?

I eat pumpkin curry but the making of intimidates me for some unexplored reason. Perhaps, the cutting up of the heavy, recalcitrant, bulbous body.

Why do some announce: I don't read poetry; I don't get it.

Perhaps, they make pumpkin curry on a regular basis. I could learn much from them.

Am I suggesting fear is a teacher? The unknown a mentor?

Sunflower seeds. How do sunflower seeds teach one to read a poem?

I think of sunflower seeds as commas straightened to appear as apostrophes. In either view, sunflower seeds are punctuation marks that allow silence into a line. Much needed. Even in the midst of drumming, silence is welcomed. When the chant ends, silence prevails and no breath, lost.

Think where these seeds get their origin; their meaning.