Which two foods now in the market best resemble my blink poems?

English peas
Golden & red beets

Why?  The later colorful.   The former, a small container containing the circular & best consumed raw.

What's a blink poem?   See while eating oysters:  23 blink poems, published by CLWN WR BKS, Brooklyn.  Thanks, Bob Heman.

Can there be gloomy food in summer? How does this theory apply to poems?

I guess if the food is over-cooked.  Or the combination of rain & heat & cold is not in harmony.  And definitely if the poem is over-or-under edited.

Summer is the hopeful season for tomatoes. What is the equivalent in poetry?

A simple yet color-fed combination of words.   As the farmer's markets increase in bounty (tomatoes & otherwise), the poem scales back to the essentials & yet each enjoys the largess.

How is cooking in a wok synonymous with writing a poem?

Short answer -- both require frequent stirring.
Long answer -- both require frequent stirring.

Although conventional wisdom sees paper as flat, it is more wok-ishly shaped.  & the pen, a mighty stirrer.

What is the affinity of a hard-boiled egg to a short poem?

small
compact
full
of promise


Hard-boiled egg  salad #303

golden beet cubed
snap peas raw or slightly steamed
mixed nuts w/a few raisins
fresh basil
olive oil
black pepper
& of course
a hard-boiled egg

Which did I love first -- salads or poems?

Loving the good things of which salads and poetry are, is not hierarchical.  Nor is time.  Bounty loves a circle.  Think heirloom tomato.  Think fresh herbs. How basil in particular is similar to words in a poem offering surprise.  Offering delight.  

What is the one unifying aspect to a salad and a poem?

You don't know if it "works" until you do it.  Conceptualizing is a fine & noble activity; however, it doesn't make a salad.  It doesn't write the poem.

Here's Sunday's salad:

a peach cubed
2 kinds of mangoes -- Mexican & honey, cubed
zucchini raw & cubed
almonds
avocado cubed
cherry tomatoes
fresh basil
black pepper
olive oil

You can read Sunday's poem in the next issue of The Bay Times.

Which is another way of saying,  salads and poems share a sublime equality.

The avocado is magical. What's magical in a poem?

Everything.  Everything in both -- avocado & poetry.  Taste, color & surprise.  & speaking of geometry, aren't triangles nifty, although I think a poem is more like a circle or spiral.  Nevertheless, triangles make making things happen as much as a pen, the poem.

What is the connection with sunset, poetry, and salad?

A sunset-salad that inspires a poem.  What's a sunset-salad, you ask?  Not a salad limited to making/eating at sunsets.  Oh, no.  A sunset-salad is great for lunch or even breakfast. (Dinner, too, of course).  Perhaps, an example will help.  Just remember there are as many sunset-salads as bounty from a farmer's market.

Sunset-salad #715

peach
huge heirloom tomato -- one of those richly hued-reds ones
fresh basil
avocado
black pepper
almonds
Mozzarella tiny balls
olive oil
if you have a few cooked beets (& why wouldn't you?) especially of the yellow-kind, cube & add

Cut what needs cutting/cubing.  Mix.   Where's the fork?  Where your pen?   The ocean lies in front of you.  Read the calligraphy of waves -- write that down for me, please.  I'm eating.  

What does two days eating meat have to do with poetry?

Oh, bring on the spinach.  Bring on the beets.
Multiple days of eating meat for one who doesn't so much (unless it's salmon or that ilk), is akin to poetry that is heavy.  Heavy, how?   Flowery.  Sometimes, the light feels heavy.

How does salmon write the next poem?

It's personal.  Salmon is a perfect food for me -- rich & colorful making my body hum.   Pleasing limbs & mind.  No small feat, when you think about it.

What kind of salmon?  Wild, responsibility farmed, or smoked.

Consider what salmon can do to a plate.  Think what paper does to words.

Happy & humming.  A poem anticipated.

How does not eating much asparagus in season reflect in poetry?

Unfinished.   Not enjoying the seasonal and all its ripeness is akin to an unfinished poem.  Or a poem which was not begun and needed its chance at ripeness.  Perhaps, another opportunity will come but not now. 

What is the unexpected voice in a good meal & in a poem?

Dance.
Dance of energy.
Dance of words.
Dance of taste.
Dance of articulation.

The thrill of having a poem signed.  Pure dance.  

Imagine sushi without soy, wasabi, ginger. Now, what's the equivalent necessity in a poem?

enjambment
surprise
ripeness

What is the connection between fresh steamed corn & a poem?

Each ear of corn offers amazing opportunities for enjambment.  Each kernel might be said to be a word. Both poem and corn share a ripe physicality.  & delicious taste. 

How does adding cherries to your salad, relate to the poem you're working on?

In both instances, it's advisable to be on the look-out for pits.

What are pits in poetry?  You'll know when you say the poem out loud. 

In both, hold on (hold-out) for the color in each.