fresh soup, chicken, vegetables & fruits
scorn the fingers & hands
of crushing garlic, chopping spices & herbs
until we get used to dry chemicals
& pills & frozen dinner rolls & thirsty
equates to sugar pop rush, not fresh water-
saturate the pan with salt & MSG until
bellies widen with forgetting
grandma's recipes & bones turn delicate
with milk & cheese sealed in plastics-
slow & wait & reap becomes outdated for fast-
food, and on some days we're looking
for flesh, juice, pit & seeds
ironically it will be packaged
more expensive in glossier paper & labels
someday we will be very hungry
& not even food can fill it -
someday we will be very hungry
& not even food can fill it -
Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - OpenLinkNight - Thanks for the visit ~
Your poem made me think, Grace. How many children these days grow up eating so much pre-packaged, pre-cooked food (expensive but empty) that they have no knowledge of how wonderful food can be made with fresh garlic and herbs & cooked from a handed down recipe.
ReplyDeleteI am having these challenges now Mary ~ Maybe part of the blame is myself as I am too busy, but I do try ~ Thanks for the visit ~
Deleteyes - yes - yes - aren't we idiots... so easy to be satisfied with really bad food instead of going for the fresh thing...and not only in regards to food but in so many areas of life...
ReplyDeletemy daughters are on a heavy health food trail at the moment - they really cook wonderful things, chop fresh vegetables, spices, nuts - by fresh food on the farmer's markets and it tastes wonderful... and makes such a big difference
How lovely for your daughters to do that Claudia ~ My son also does the same thing and he is a chef,smiles ~
DeleteI agree... at one time when younger and more idealistic we did all food from scratch... even making tofu directly from soy beans... I still enjoy the process.. and fortunately I know kids who have realized that the prepackaged stuff is no good...
ReplyDeleteI love "slow-food" cooked for hours... so much better than anything else...
I should really try slow food cooked for hours ~ Thanks Bjorn ~
DeleteGrace ... I just bought my second slow cooker. It is the largest Cuisinart brand I could find. It cost a pretty penny - but Oh MAN! It has changed my life. I can brown the meat on the stove and slip it into my slow cooker. My smaller one I use for quicker, smaller things. Or cook two meals and have one for the next day (I've only done that once, but I loved it)
DeleteFor our dessert this evening we had blackberry crumble; I picked the berries the other day and made the topping myself. Delicious - or at least that's what my wife said ... smiles.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to believe how divorced we've become from what we eat - and it's killing us.
What a yummy dessert ~ Thanks for the food for thought ~
DeleteOh, so very powerful, Grace. It seems like things are slowly reverting back to natural food choices. There's nothing like Grandma's old recipes.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree but they are so expensive ~ Thanks Laurie ~
DeleteVery cool write, Grace. And, I think you're right.
ReplyDeleteGrace the poem was very good but your closure was too superb for words.>KB
ReplyDeleteGoes along with a conversation I had yesterday - my niece has grown a garden and is using her great grandmothers recipes to can all her bounty- how many of us still do any of that - we have forgotten how to grow, nurture, preserve, live - thought provoking piece, Grace!
ReplyDeleteI would love to dream and have a garden where I can just do that ~ Thanks K ~
DeleteIf we truly are what we eat, then we are full of crap, ennit? A life-long tussle for me, hoping that real food can suffice, even though it was picked green, laced with chemicals, kept frozen, shipped from Chile, and injected with food dyes to look more appetizing. Still, your point is well taken, and your poem well spoken; thanks.
ReplyDeleteI agree its a challenge to eat real good and healthy food ~ And we are what we end, in the end ~ Thanks Glenn ~
Deleteisn't Colossal an amazing blog? I love going there to see what they've found.
ReplyDeleteas for "food" - yes. "Cheese Food" as marked on cans of 'cheezewhiz', which begs the question - is that what you feed to cheese? And, 'whiz'??
Not even food can fill it...
I love that blog - their stuff is awesome, smiles ~
DeleteI'm sitting here eating some skittles and a can of soda as I was reading this (shame on me). Since moving to the US I seem to eat more prepackaged chemical laced crap than I did when I was in the UK. Thanks for the reminder that I need to eat better, I need to do better and as a result I'll probably feel better.
ReplyDeleteI don't mean to make you guilty Kathryn, smiles ~ But I do agree on eating healthier foods (my son reminds me everyday) ~
DeleteHunger in the time and land of abundance -- you are so right. We have so forgotten what food is and are now feeding the hunger (greed) that is insatiable.
ReplyDeleteSo much truth in this, Grace. It's ironic how some people essentially kill themselves by what they eat.
ReplyDeleteI agree, and wonder (know) why the fresh fruit and fresh grain cost so much. Excellent write, Mosk
ReplyDeleteAs someone who enjoys cooking and eating good food I can only agree with you Grace!
ReplyDeleteOuch! I think I'm already there but not being able to get your fill is better than not wanting any fill at all I think...
ReplyDeletewow that is rather haunting...esp the close....it is interesting how our food choices have changed and defined us...what happens when we can no longer grow our own?
ReplyDeleteyet buying fresh fruits and vegetables, (at least where I live) to prepare a homemade meal is often more expensive than the packaged stuff... it is frustrating and very, very sad. We do our best, but then I think of families with far less income how choices are made for them because they can't afford fresh. Really, it is so heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteBuying fresh stuff here is expensive too ~ What a choice we make everyday ~ Thanks Laura ~
DeleteToo right, Grace! Wonderfully written, and a topic on which I feel very strongly.
ReplyDelete..aww, i am guilty of eating too much pre-cooks & too much patronizing fast food chains... no wonder i'll stay not long o'er the earth... well, my basic reason is i don't know how to cook & yes that is not an excuse... poor me... ha, i loved this Grace... & that end is quite a thought to ponder... smiles...
ReplyDeleteAm not a good cook too but I try my best, smiles ~ And I miss those kinds of food, sighs ~
DeleteSuch truth here, and so much to think about. It is sad that it cost more to eat healthy these days than it does to eat junk, but that is the truth of it. very provocative!
ReplyDeleteI confess... I don't drink plain water. I need to add some sort of a sugary flavor to it.
ReplyDeleteVery well-written... the way the packaged foods are replacing the fresh from farm ones, it is not good. We will be devoid of necessary nutrients and minerals this way.
Good write, Grace, couplets of opposing realities coming to the inevitable conclusion. Late in life now I've committed to local harvest and its free-range grass-fed meats--when I still get meat at all. In Mexico a while back, I visited a work training camp for street kids who elected to try a legal lifestyle. There I learned after several years of a white flour twinkie diet, brain development was so stunted that few choices were truly open to these children.
ReplyDeleteSo sad to read the after effects of poor diet ~ Thanks Susan ~
Delete..and the portions of things are so small....I ordered some onion rings the other day and got only 3....the salad at a fancy restaurant consisted of just 2 leaves of romaine. Thoughtful poem Grace
ReplyDeleteTruth, well said. The price of overpopulating the planet with humans. Life has certainly changed, with every gain it seems a greater loss.
ReplyDeleteTrue words... instead of eating healthy and good so many eat fast food and unhealthy food ... So much to think about. Good write.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ayala ~
DeleteExcellent work. And so true. ah! the good old times when us kids made all foods ourselves home made style.
ReplyDeleteThose were the days ~ Thank you ~
DeleteIt's hard to maintain a healthy diet nowadays. Harder for parents to keep their kids eating better quality food. Your poem says it all Grace.
ReplyDeleteYes, a challenge for children as most of them don't know any better with all the media exposure ~ Thanks Myrna ~
Deletegreat points here... homecooking is def my fav... tho I do enjoy the occasional fast food: burgers, pizza, etc. big problem is how most food in big, affordable markets like walmart are processed... it makes it so hard to really have the right kind of diet when the healthy foods cost so much more... damned if ya do, damned if ya don't kind of situation for some of us, ya know?
ReplyDeleteYes, its a tricky situation ~ Thanks Anthony ~
Deletethere is a hunger
ReplyDeleteyes, there is a hunger
no food can ever fill
great work here
I think we all would like to eat healthier but, time and money shackle us in a busy world. I enjoy this time of year when there are farmers markets everywhere and you can buy fresh veggies & fruit. Apple picking will be coming soon as well a sure sign that fall is upon us.
ReplyDeleteWhat a choice of modern life and modern diet! No choice in fact! It's pity to the young of today. Great capture Grace!
ReplyDeleteHank
Yuck, to the processed crap, did away with all of that at my mat and the gmo too.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you entirely.On est ce qu'on mange. The French understand that!
ReplyDeleteThat is so true... I feel as though our taste buds are being dumbed down? How is a sugar pop a treat if it becomes the staple? Kids drinking water from the hose is how it ought to be.... Seems a bit overkill to some, but it will certainly teach them the meaning of treat when mom gives them their only coke for the year, and only after a particularly hot day grueling in the garden. Where food is supposed to come from. Good food for thought Grace...
ReplyDeleteBeing as I just made homemade chili soup I can say I'm keeping it old school in the kitchen! Great write, and makes me glad I love to garden, raise food and cook! :-) Yum for Grandma's recipes.
ReplyDeleteJunk food is expensive and in fact by buying it we are buying all sorts of diseases.
ReplyDeleteHow nice it would to go back, before the big M came along or the fried chicken that's possibly rabbit, where eating and the partaking thereof was a family ritual, not a snack on the go. This resonated with me as I have just finished (last week) a juice de-tox of fruit and veg juices for 5 days.. I felt good but healthy food I could chew tasted better. In saying that this is also about your what you wrote, I enjoy your couplets and I have to agree with that close - superb. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteA worrying but ever-present trend. Real food is so much nicer, something to look forward to as I'm choosing veg in the market, searching out recipes, chopping and stirring. The occasional bought dish in the freezer for emergencies is OK but real food is for every day!
ReplyDeleteOH Grace---i think you just freaked out about 100,000 doomsday preppers.
ReplyDeleteNever believed in them predictions anyway, smiles ~
DeleteGrandma's recipes did more than just fill our belly.
ReplyDeleteMy mother talks about the clink of the glass milk bottles on the front porch in the morning, of planting the spring garden (she still does - 85+ years old) etc... My kids and I had a garden one year - beans and lettuce were about the only successful thing -
ok OK ... I'm going to the market this weekend for SURE! I'll take photos to prove it :)
I would love to see them ~ Thanks Margaret ~
DeleteSeems like all food is processed these days doesn't it? It's a product of our fast-paced society I think. Lovely writing as always.
ReplyDeleteLovely Grace! I try very hard to stick to home cooking, something to be said for the time spent preparing and enjoying the meal with family but I am guilty of pizza on occasion when life gets too busy. Makes me think of my grandmother who had ten children and did nothing but cook and clean and I get "tired" with one child still at home and I don't do nearly what she did .
ReplyDeleteOur grandmothers were sure amazing ~ Thanks Lisa ~
DeleteGrace, I always buy from local farmers here. I know the horrors of the likes of Monsanto. It is terrifying as your poem illustrates.
ReplyDeletePamela
Wow Grace~good poem to get the conversation going on this. We wonder why we have such problems with obesity these days. Nice job.
ReplyDeleteA nice commentary here in poetic form, Grace. People are losing the art of eating well as people turn more and more towards instant and pre-packaged foods.
ReplyDeleteAs a foodie, I so appreciate this, Grace...I love the creativity of preparing good wholesome food from scratch...packaged foods bruises my soul and I worry for future generations. A wonderful, thought provoking write! ~jackie~
ReplyDeleteLove this. These days, we eat as close to the ground as we can get.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds really nice and interesting Grace. I dont like chemicals and processed food and here is difficult too eat healthy always is more expensive, for this I love to cook with fruits and veggies, I try not always I can I know:) so good Grace!!
ReplyDeleteI like the way you played the lines of this poem, weaving in and out.
ReplyDeletedelihgtful, Grace, you know I love the element of food in my readings :)
ReplyDelete