Thursday, January 03, 2013

Old poem, same perspective





 I used to write a poem or two a week. Now my thoughts seem too private. I hope that will change sooner than later.

This one I liked it then and I like now. I like what it reminds me.

Happy New Year,
love
kj

Cooking Up Trouble

Sneaking up the walkway
And through the back door
Carrying a recipe filled with lessons
From the great books, 

You mix together ingredients
That can be separated
Only once
And even then you take your chances.

You start with young hope
Sifted through intent and 
Measured nicely by honest hands
Hoping that alone will suffice.

But of course it can’t.
So from the back cabinet
You reach for promises
Waiting to be made and kept

And add them with fanfare,
Simply because they must be mixed
With integrity
Otherwise they curdle at the first neglect.

This bowl can hold whatever you throw at it,
But not neglect. 
And that is because some recipes
When they’re fudged or forsaken

Fall into a million pieces
So even the great godess cannot reconstruct them,
And least of all you with your limited skills.. 
Better to take your time and measure 
Well enough, really well enough

So that when the rising’s done
You become whole
From those ingredients 
You cooked up yourself. 

9 comments:

  1. I'm working on my Pam recipe, kj. This year I hope to get it right. :) Love your poem, and completely understand keeping thoughts private. Maybe they're in a crock pot somewhere, simmering. xox

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  2. I love this poem, KJ. I can relate to the meaning as well as the cooking metaphor. :) I keep many of my thoughts private as well, knowing that this is a very public forum. It seems intimate with our blog friends, but it really can be very public... Love, Silke

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  3. I think some thoughts are meant for e-mail and phone calls~~where they are distributed to only those that need to read them
    Beautiful poem....of course, with cooking, one thing wrong and the recipe isn't the same.
    Love it love it....
    Hoping the poem-mojo returns when the time is right and the words are ready to spill out, racing over each other to hit the page.

    XXOO~~
    Anne

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  4. i think you are a natural born poet kj, this is a brilliant recipe. i wish i could put words together like that. i really like the colorful fun photo, looks like a place where love is being made. xxx

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  5. love the poem and the metaphor. be well. suki

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  6. Okay please tell me that you are collecting all this wisdom and goodness for a book! This is sooooo awesome and as Sukipoet said the metaphors are awesome! Great work. Hugs to you and I hope to see a book real soon!

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  7. Oh, I love the final stanza! can we really become whole from what we've cooked up? I hope it is so.

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  8. they must be mixed
    With integrity
    Otherwise they curdle at the first neglect...nice, love that and the bit after when it comes to neglect...what a killer that is...and amy is right that last stanza rocks...smiles.

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  9. it is a wonderful recipe, you should write a cookbook...oh wait - you already did!

    i like this lots

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