Tuesday, May 28, 2013

A Stick of Cinnamon (Poem)

A Stick of Cinnamon

I start with a stick
of cinnamon

drizzled in honey
from some Virginia hollow,

too sweet, perhaps,
to move our conversation

beyond more talk
of the art

of making perfect
cups of infused tea.

You watch
as hardness softens,

focusing what soothes
in the heat that dissipates

and curls into steam,
stinging our eyes.

Before I've had a chance
to bring rim to lips,

you notice that crack
I've finally resealed.

© 2013 Maureen E. Doallas

16 comments:

Louise Gallagher said...

Oooh.. this poem resonates with mystery and miracles.

Ruth said...

Lovely, Maureen. I appreciate that crack, which I see as a vulnerability in the relationship.

HisFireFly said...

This begs to be taken in with all of one's senses -
fantastic!

Kathleen said...

Oooh, I'm seeing, smelling, and tasting it.

Charleen said...

Reading your poem must have been a sign or something. I was just fixing to go get me a cup of tea-infused with cinnamon too!

brudberg said...

The details of cinnamon sticks and honey, and at the same time a silence from reality that speaks more than words... doesn't sound good for that relationship.... hope it works out,

brudberg said...

I think the focus on the details of the tea and the cinnamon stick hides the crack in a relationship in need of mending. Hope it works out smiles :-)

Anonymous said...

Warm & spicy. I love the friendship connection, here. Wonderful!

Brian Miller said...

one of the best things of our intimate relationships is the noticing of those cracks...and not letting us hide behind a cup of tea...

Jennifer Wagner said...

I love the way you used this metaphor. Wonderful poetry.

Jody Lee Collins said...

ohhhhhhh I thought this was about tea with honey until I got to the last lines.

Reminds me of your conversations with LL that we get to overhear on the Tweetspeak blog.

I so enjoy your work, Maureen.

Semaphore said...

I was just writing somewhere abut the poet who went by the initials H.D. (in real life Hilda Doolittle) - a poet who remains one of my touchstones - and here you are, in your brief lines and subtle nods to the imagist movement, and your lines remind me so much of her, that I want to take up a book of hers to read.

Unknown said...

SPICY!!! Great job!

Jeff said...

" . .too sweet, perhaps,
to move our conversation . . ."

Once the focus shifts, perhaps the cinnamon and honey inundate the bitterness.

Please invite me for a cup sometime. I will enjoy the remedy.

Cheers!

Hannah Stephenson said...

Hardness and softness...there's an interesting tension in this poem (and so much unspoken about the relationship between its characters). The opening is so inviting, and then there is a shift in energy in the closing lines....very intriguing.

Anonymous said...

I especially enjoyed the symbolism between tea and relationships.