Denotation. When a poem requires heavy lifting from a diction, what is being denoted?

What's the issue (the worry) of finding out new-to-you words? Consider them, new acquaintances over tea and/or mussels. Of made-up words, quite grand, I'd say.


Connotatively speaking, a dictionary is so like a cupboard respectfully full of good food. To share.

Catharsis? Does the poet or the listener garner more catharsis?

Or it the collective body of words and the spaces they sculpt? To put it another way, if the poet hasn't experienced catharsis in writing the poem, can the listener do so? Can catharsis be a one-way street. Perhaps, a cul-de-sac? Dead-end being quite an unfortunate phrase.


Is cooking any more cathartic than eating? Depends.

Archetype. Is the archetype the basis for poetry?

Always an inkling of. (Aside: please, please read Murakami's The Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. Archetypes galore). Anyhow. Archetypes are a jumping off vista for everything. Of which, poetry includes every thing imaginable & imaginary.


Archetypes in the kitchen? All which is ripe (hot or cold) and suitable for hand & mouth.

Conflict. Is there always an undercurrent of conflict in a poem?

Perhaps, more to the point the dialects of gestures on a page. Or across the digital. And sometimes, the absence of. Conflict & conversation.


Food -- when to say yes, when to decline. For instance, is that mold hosting a proper conversation with the cheese. Or should the cheese be pitched. The nose sometimes doesn't know.
The mouth, however...

Personification. Can a poem be free of personification?

Language poetry is an interesting term (as well as a vehicle for some mighty compelling & nifty work). Isn't all poetry a subset of language? Come to think of it, isn't language a subject of the personal, treading on the tips of personification? All resulting in a resounding probably.



All is itself and something other. Brings me to cabbage. What does the cabbage personify? And in the aggregate, cabbage soup?

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.

Resolution. Do poems inwardly seek resolution?

Yes, if sound is plot, which of course, it is.


In food, I find a colorful salad of this-and-that works best to resolve the day. For instance,
Persian cucumbers
Kumato tomatoes
feta
fresh basil (or cilantro)
snap peas
olives -- green or black
Mandarin slices -- fresh, of course
nuts -- I prefer raw almonds or walnuts
sliced avocado
pepper
olive oil

mix

drizzle a couple of drops of Sciabica's Jalapeno olive oil -- warm & buttery

mix again & top with more fresh herbs

an additional twist of pepper does no harm