.JPG)
You're baking again.
I only see your head,
But eyes are secondary,
tertiary, arbitrary when
doles of clumping batter
strike that muffin tin –
The grate buzzing thunder
underneath – and then
a slam and a breath of heat,
gas and old crumb undertones
On that breeze. I hear your
feet slapping ground again,
To go spell with magnets
and then to read half a
comic – while time turns warm.
You pull with your toes
on the door (too early)
just for that burst of heat …
spraying almond-singe
and blueberry, giving you
beach-skin and swim-belly (
wet red and growling hungry).
I hope (beyond regret) you
eat yourself so full
that I can catch you.
after Christy's blog post/photo about/of her blueberry muffins with almond streusel topping. Mmm.
ReplyDelete* Thanks to Chrisy (muffins!) Jomeline (bittermelon dinner party), Svetlana (snow hair), Damian (bird feeder), David (ant line), Austin (up from underneath), Julie (Dubai from high) and Ana Braga Henebry (hoar frost) for making this collage full.
This is an amazing poem because of its originality and ability to make the act of baking muffins into such a sensual experience.
ReplyDeleteI really admire how the poem focuses on neither the person making the muffins nor the process of baking muffins, but rather an aside person's experience watching someone else bake muffins. In fact, the unique point of view might be the key aspect of the poem, aside from maybe the word choice. I really commend you for thinking outside of the box on this one!
The second thing about this poem I really like is your choice of vocabulary. Not only is it incredibly descriptive, but it is also somewhat uncommon when describing muffin baking. The phrases like "grate buzzing thunder" and "when time turns warm" are magical and memorable parts of your work.
Finally, the collage is a perfect addition and the wonderful colors support the descriptive vocabulary. It is a really interpretive work and it allows the reader to picture the action in the poem it his or her own unique way.
Thank you and great job!
Rebecca R
It's amazing how the world opens up when we step into a view outside of the spotlight: usually that just means {out of our own heads - into a friend's, a stranger's, etc.} ... but it's also about learning to remember the parts of our own lives where we were passively sensual -
Deletewalking into a room and touching a chair, or smelling a magazine, or picking up a little nick-knack to look at more closely.
When we are "doing things," like baking, that purpose sometimes mutes our senses. When we "do nothing," like waiting for the muffins to come out, that presents a valuable opportunity for us to open up an feel.
Really not so outside the box ... just deeper into it ;)
Thanks, Rebecca
I love this poem. Its authentic point of view is inspiring and thought provoking, and its amazing what complexities lie within such simple tasks like baking muffins. The collage itself adds to the poem's impact as well and helps create a visual aid for the explosive and powerful imagery. It's interesting how vivid a picture just a few words can create.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part has to be "spraying almond-singe/and blueberry, giving you/beach-skin and swim-belly (/wet red and growling hungry)." I never knew baking muffins or better yet observing the process of baking muffins could be so personal. I attribute this to the selective word choice.
I have to reiterate that this is a great poem. Its not only mentally stimulating but it also made me hungry. I could really use a good hot muffin right about now.
Thanks for the poem!
Carter C.
I was naturally drawn to this poem because of its subject - food. That always wins in my book. But beyond the delicious description of baked goods is something I can relate to: the constant struggle of always catching up. I could be way off base but the focus on the gloriousness of the muffins seems to reflect back on the mysterious individual making them. Hoping that this person becomes obese is like a cry out to them to slow down. The speaker is desperately trying to catch up. The parentheticals add to this, showing the speaker's attempt to find flawws in the muffin-baker.
ReplyDeleteThe accompanying collage complements what I took away from the poem. The negative imprint of the obese person looms in the background while on either side images of perfection (bird house, baking muffins) are also tainted with negative colors.
My not to the author: thank you for using the medium of food to portray a relatable feeling! I could be way off on the interpretation but that is what sung out to me. So thanks! and bravo!
Now I think I'll go eat a muffin...
Taylor F.
I didn't know I put anything negative in this poem! (you know, sumo wrestlers are crazy-heavy, but also - many of them - in rather athletic physical condition for their ceremonious competition)
DeleteOops! I meant to say that the colors of the sumo wrestler are inverted (negative).
DeleteI find it interesting that the poem begins by implying that while baking, the sense of sight isn’t nearly as important as our other senses (perhaps only to an experienced baker). The way I interpret “eyes are secondary, tertiary, arbitrary when doles of clumping batter strike that muffin tin,” is that the baker loses themselves once they begin to bake, and the sense of sight takes a back seat, as the other senses overwhelm the baker. Throughout the rest of the poem the other senses of touch, smell, and sound seem to be much more important in the baking process. These senses are almost less tangible than sight, suggesting that baking has a lot to do with intuition and feeling. This contrasts with how the narrator is mainly using their sense of sight while observing the baking process. When the narrator witnesses the baker open the oven door they can only see how it turns the baker’s skin pink from the heat. We do not get to hear how hot it actually feels to the baker. These second hand observations throughout the poem make the baker seem just out of the narrator’s reach, and the narrator’s hope that the muffins will allow them to catch the baker confirms this. The narrator can only observe the baker through sight, which is like only being able to observe a muffin through sight; without the aid of any of the other senses you’re not going to learn much about the subject.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the poem, hope this analysis is interesting and not totally off!
It's definitely on, as observation.
DeleteThough I must say, as a writer who has written my poems, it's kind of anticlimactic to see 40 comments pop up, where 35 are telling me what my poems are about (at its best, they are "reaffirming" as yours is, showing that people are understanding and connecting with what I intended; at worst, they're "irritating," showing inattentive reading and so essentially redefinitions of the text that the text itself don't support).
What's really "interesting" to a writer -- and rewarding, and exciting -- is to hear about the readers themselves: their experiences and their reasons for focusing in on a particular poem and finding value in it. That makes me feel like my work's worth doing.
As I see, my purpose in life is to help those around me, to make a positive impact -- not simply to be understood (that's just a tool for spurring positive change). Right? Thank you for the question; pass on the answer ;-)