Eggplant, Pepper, and Onion
after L.L. Barkat's 'Touch Stuff, Get Happy'
Apply heat,
and aubergine ripens
to the color of nightshade,
the India ink of eyes
spying large and watchful.
Split pepper,
and feel its sting
rise like desire unrelieved.
Peel a layer
from its heart, and red onion
makes a bowl
of tears the shape of spheres
we navigate,
concentric rings of life eternal,
earth-given form
we know to name and touch.
© 2012 Maureen E. Doallas
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
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10 comments:
I particularly love the splitting and peeling in the center of this!
Love the sensuousness of this, Maureen. I've been cooking a lot of eggplant & peppers lately (they're in season, and in abundance, for my local farmers); next time I cook them, I'll know how "to name and touch."
(PS--It has taken me 5 times to get blurry numbers/letters correct that your blog-host requires; I wish they could make this safety-step less of a chore.)
Peggy, I'm sorry about the anti-spammer tool that Blogger offers. I have the same trouble when leaving messages elsewhere; I just keep hitting that little symbol until I get it right. Not using it brings in too much spam.)
"we navigate,
concentric rings of life eternal,
earth-given form
we know to name and touch."
These last lines speak to me this morning, and I can smell the freshness of my own "splitting and peeling."
Thank you for sharing your beautiful gifts of seeing and expressing...of awaking thoughts and emotions so vibrantly.
love that peeling of the onion and traveling the concentric rings of life....that is where you really hooked me in this...very col maureen...
Wonderful images this creates.
Thanks Maureen for sharing your sense of life "feel its sting rise like desire unrelieved"...
It is such blessing to be able to express yourself as you do it...
Every image here a metaphor and to name and touch is to own, to be, to understand. Deft, subtle, and deep.
I love when a poem has this soul... in yours it's ... "rise like desire unrelieved" right there in the middle like this beautiful tickle of a surprise... it takes the breath away, it makes one stop and go whoa... This was really cool... I love when that happens.
A fine example of menu-as-existential-metaphor! It's an oft-attempted exercise, but this works so well.
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