Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Homecoming


Sticky sweet as hand-rolled rice cake
Baked in clay pot lined with banana leaves

Salty soft as goat's cheese
Mouth watering purple yam stirred in milk & sugar

Tangy crisp as sliced green mango
Mixed with tomatoes, onions & shrimp paste

Sun dew fruits - watermelon, papaya,
star apple, melon, atis, chico - nourish my eyes

And most of all, riotously decadent halo-halo*
colors swimming in finely shaved ice

And I would suckle your brown breast
Milky as young coconut, newly axed by bolo**

By the man along dusty road,
His deeply wrinkled smile welcoming me home 
  




*Halo-halo ( ‘mix-mix’ ) is a popular Philippine dessert consisting mainly of finely-shaved ice and a delightful concoction of preserved sweets such as young shredded coconut, beans, boiled banana chunks, macapuno, sago, gelatin, leche flan and topped with crispy popped rice and a glob of ice cream, among other yummy tidbits. Picture credit here.

** bolo is a large, heavy, single-edged knife or machete for hacking

Posted for D'verse Poets pub - Homecoming ~ It's all about food ~ 

33 comments:

  1. I found the connection to the food could be something that really make you long for home... there are things you simply cannot get when you're not home.. The description of the food is simply divine,

    ReplyDelete
  2. We too have a similar concoction, basically of shaved ice fruits and nuts topped with ice cream. A welcomed offering on a hot afternoon. Wonderful write Grace!

    Hank

    ReplyDelete
  3. Beyond the dusty road the old ones teach us the true magic of oral culture:
    taste enhanced by all of the senses. Great.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Food sure can make you wish to be home, as you have to make due when you roam

    ReplyDelete
  5. Beautiful piece, Grace.

    When I go home to Long Island I always hit up the deli's and diners so I can enjoy food I can't get down here.

    ReplyDelete
  6. mmm it sounds delish to me....one of the first things i do in experiencing other places is through their food and flavors.....def the right food makes you feel like home no matter how far you are from it....

    ReplyDelete
  7. This intrigues my sweet tooth...I need to find me some halo-halo :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh, I do think that oftentimes memories of home are very much intertwined with those food memories. Your poem tingles my taste buds, Grace.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love this dessert ! I was thinking in make some Ice cream!!!
    Love how you talk about it Grace:)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh my goodness, the dessert looks incredible. I must make it for my Filipino daughter, when she visits! Love your poem of homecoming. I can see that wrinkled face and welcoming smile.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Mouthwatering delight in this and what great images you have painted, well done.

    ReplyDelete
  12. all the food - YUMMY! But yeah, foods are certainly a huge part of feeling at home. My mom's meatloaf always brings me to a special place... smiles.

    ReplyDelete
  13. A sweet nostlgia threads its way in the cloth you have woven. >KB

    ReplyDelete
  14. So many of us think of home from the heart's perspective, yet for sure, the stomach, the taste buds have a special kind of nostalgia for each of us; senes memory is huge; once spent 3 months in Philadelphia, and have been searching for a good Cheesesteak sandwich ever since.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Beautifully well written...

    I love the metaphors you use with tasty colors and surgery foods. :)

    This brought a smile to my face. :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Yikes! I saw that picture and gained 10 pounds. Ha. It's funny how when we miss home, we often think of the food. I'm like that about Puerto Rico. Good poem grace, but fattening.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Such a happy poetry you have here tonight Grace -- smiles.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Beautiful Grace. The sweet tastes of home, lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Food and company, they make homecoming special. Somehow, they can't be replicated here.

    ReplyDelete
  20. food and scent are like anchors to keep our memories

    ReplyDelete
  21. It is not just the food. It is the colour plants smells and most significantly that wrinkly smile...smiles like that are non existent in the west. I miss them and you must even more so. Lovely poem.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Yum-yum! Biscuits and sausage gravy ~ and I am right back on my grandparent's farm .... Ah, sweet memories indeed.

    ReplyDelete
  23. oh my...i'm all hungry now after reading this - and that is a very good thing as i didn't eat much while i had fever - the taste and scent of food is so connected with certain countries and i can imagine how it is a homecoming in many ways

    ReplyDelete
  24. Certain aromas, special spices, just plain meat and potato meals send signals to the spot in your brain where the memories of home reside. Sadly, some of the wonderful foods you describe are not part of my early memories, but I'm sure I would enjoy them in my present life--thanks for introducing them.

    ReplyDelete
  25. What a tasty poem :)

    ReplyDelete
  26. Different foods can definitely tie us to home...wherever we are. Halo halo sounds like a dessert with just about a little of everything in there...would love to try it some day.

    ReplyDelete
  27. You create a lovely scene and table...wish I could try it!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Mouth watering ,........... nicely done

    ReplyDelete
  29. That must have been a terrible vacation Grace if the homecoming was like a confection? Unless of course the homecoming double Halo had three or four shots of rum in it. Then getting home would be cool a final vacation memory (or not depending on your tolerance for rum) did you come home to the torrents of rain? We kicked it out of here and sent it East.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Grace, this is both a beautiful and mouth-watering poem. I hope I can try this dessert one day.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Oh, yes, food is certainly all things home... what a delicious-sounding dessert - you really do it justice! (Funnily enough, as a child I used to hate many of the foods which I am homesick for today).

    ReplyDelete
  32. You make home sound positively delicious. Such perfect visuals I can almost taste them on my tongue.

    ReplyDelete

I try my best to reciprocate comments and visits.
I allow anonymous comments if you have difficulty posting them. Thank you & have a good day!!!