Stone fruit. Why is stone fruit a reliable source & inspiration of the ripe in poetry?

The pit is an antidote to the overly-sweet.
It delights the senses. It makes the mouth hum.
Even their names inspire -- apricot, pluot, peach, nectarine, cherry.
Let's not forget plum.

Sliced into, those colors give way to words.

How many times can I write a peach poem.

OR FIGS

One should be as greedy for love
as one is for the ripest of peaches.

Eggrolls.How is an eggroll similar to a poem?

With an eggroll the surprise comes from the inside out.

With a poem the surprise comes from the inside out.

However, this is not to suggest that eggrolls & poems are synonymous.

BAKED EGGROLLS

I've just beginning to experiment with baked eggrolls.

Begin with an eggroll skin (store-purchased)
to which you a add healthy dollop of sauteed mushrooms with garlic
fold according to the instructions on the eggroll package
place on an oiled baking sheet; brush lightly with olive oil
perhaps 8-10 minutes in hot oven

Think of an eggroll skin as a practical container for the 26 letters of the alphabet in the pursuit of making a poem.

Yummy but very, very hot.

I've written poems for decades and I'm just beginning to experiment. So much those 26 little things can tease and teach.

Peach pizza. How much sweetness can a poem tolerate?

Depends whether it's breakfast or later.

Life can be touched by honey; so can a meal; so can a poem. Not gratuitous or false sweetness.

Or to rephrase the question: How much ripeness can a poem contain?

Anyway, here's the peach pizza

pizza shell of your choice (flatbread or corn-crusted crust)
a rub of olive oil
mozzarella or feta or queso fresco
sliced tomatoes or cherry tomatoes
pepper
walnuts
fresh basil

in preheated 400 degree oven for 8-15 minutes, depending on crust.


can be served morning, noon or night -- just like reading poetry

Pepper. How do certain words pepper a poem?

With a ping
and something a pang.
Unmistakable,
necessary.

Have you seen pepper mixed with flowers: rose, calendula, lavender & cornflower petals. More of curiosity than a sentence.

Salad. How does salad relate to writing yet another poem?

You know what's ripe.
You know what's in the refrigerator.
You know what's in the cupboards.
You can cut.
You can slice.
You can mix.
You can be practical.
You can be pragmatic.
You can recite the 26 letters of your alphabet.
You can always find your go-to words.
You can be smitten by the doing.
You can be charmed by the tasty unexpected.

LUNCHEON SALAD FOR ONE PREPARING TO WRITE A POEM BASED ON THE PROMPT, "And then I saw it blink."

cube watermelon
cut an apricot
cube 2 Persian cucumbers
slice several radishes
add a bit of Bulgarian feta
black olives
fresh tarragon
pepper
olive oil

mix & do as your friend Nina does. hum when food is right

Company. How is cooking for company similar to pulling together poems for a reading?

Both adhere to deadlines.
Both revel in surprise.
Both use common ingredients in uncommon ways.
Both take the enigmatic and try to fashion it tangible.
Both offer tastes.

Roasted eggplant salad. How is preparing a Res good practice for writing a poem a day in the month of July?

Keep flexible. Don't measure outcome before the work is done. Let it sit.

Don't taste the eggplant until you're roasted it.


Minimalist Epic: On preparing a roasted eggplant salad while writing a daily poem

Slice lengthwise small Italian eggplants
Drizzle w/olive oil
Roast @400 degrees until soft
Mix with olive oil & pepper (lemon, if you wish)
Arrange on plate & top w/cherry tomatoes, feta, black pit-less olives, cut basil, pine nuts optional
Drizzle with olive oil
Crown with basil sprig/bouquet


P.S. Add fresh cut apricots or figs. Or both. These in moderation but write voraciously.

Cook & write everyday. Confuse them. Don't confuse them.