Tapas and the tip of a conch

and squashes for days.  Because these are the days of Winter squash and no discontentment. Carrots, too, aplenty.  And essays to feed the soul; in particular Mary Ruefle's "Madness, Rack and Honey." Go for it and never apologize for being sentimental again.  Thanks, Beverly, for the top photo.

Subject. Must poems have a subject?

Yes and no. Yes, if it's not restricted to the narrative. No, if it is. Seriously, is the subject of all poems, the personal, thinking. Perspective & memory.


Must a meal have a subject? Most likely. Consider, tapas with their subject of varied, small plates. Color, texture, and architecture.

Where's the final stopover for unfinished poems?

Abandoned lines. Torn/discarded. Lost in files. Journals never re-read are language crypts. Consider: can a fragment be a poem? On this, Sappho has an opinion.


What to serve? Tapas, a meal in fragments. Try: garlicky olives; selection of non-wimpy cheeses; sautéed mushrooms; white beans & tuna w/marjoram; marinated figs; garlic shrimp; a spread of chickpeas, roasted beets, olive oil, garlic. Of course, If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho (Anne Carson, trans.).