I am taking a needed break from reading multiple books. (I am currently reading only one book: Fuzz by Mary Roach.) On Saturday, I cycled down to Austin’s Central Library to browse the stacks.
Sometimes, you need to physically pick up a book and read parts of it to decide if you actually want to read it. I was able to cull several books from my To Read list. (All nonfiction. I added more poetry, whoops.)
I wish I was better at recognizing that I don’t have to force myself to keep reading.
Prompt (Day) 9: Write a Breaking Poem
Have you ever witnessed at a coffee shop a scene so awkward that you feel your only viable options are 1) Never return to this place again; or 2) Cycle it into your regular coffee shop rotation?
We picked option 2.
The great thing about this prompt is the wide latitude in meaning we were allowed for the word “break.” In writing my book, I have witnessed many, many interpersonal interactions at coffee shops. (Somehow, a non-negligible percentage of coffee shop conversations involve crypto. Ahh, #ATXLiving.)
Unfortunately, our second visit to a now-weekly favorite involved watching a breakup. Such is life, I guess. Please have a kimo poem (Israeli haiku) which commemorates this snapshot of that awkward, awkward August 2021 morning.
THE BREAKUP
On the patio of a coffee shop
firm and final words he spoke
from time to time, she wept
Prompt (Day) 10: Write a Taste Poem
That taste is mostly smell doesn’t escape me. In fact, I can’t stop thinking about this bit of knowledge. While Google searching the question, “Is taste really smell?,” I stumbled upon a vaguely science-y website aimed at children’s educators. Trying the LifeSavers taste challenge outlined on the page seemed like a fun idea. I will manage to hold firm.
Did you know there are only five tastes? Sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and savory (umami.) The webpage I found mentioned that most poisons are alkaloids, and alkaloids are bitter. Unfortunately, my mind went straight to strychnine, that killer of my great-great-great aunt Grace (Leas) Day (and 2/4 of her kids) and, allegedly, musician Robert Johnson.
Given that heavy reminder, I’m going with two poems today. One, a heavy subject written in chained hay(na)ku. For the other, a significantly lighter subject about which I tried the dodoitsu style. If you haven’t figured out by now, hay(na)ku and its variations are becoming favored styles of mine. Enjoy!
MURDER-SUICIDE
strychnine
bitter alkaloid
Aunt Grace killed
two young daughters
the family
blamed
spoiled
canned peas
for their deaths
Irma and Leona’s
sister, Lois,
survived.
BSH
Tart, baked well from almond
paste and frangipane filling
slivered almonds sprinkled on
top sweet jam inside
kellyekosanda 