my chef son keeps his
hidden deep in drawer
for its blade, fine as lion's tooth
is long and silvery thin
making staccato sounds
on brown wooden frame
his face, zen calm
an artist at work
mine is fat & short
on kitchen counter
a king sitting above spices
& bottles of sauces
its blade a bit dull but
still sharp
to dice potatoes
to mince onions & celery
into a garden of green
into a bed of bite sized eats-
my hand tonight is fast
as I pare, cut & slice
the tender hearts of vegetables-
no thorns, no bones, just leaves & stalks -
I think about what I
said earlier in anger,
words like daggers
spatted cold & terse, a butcher
out for blood, my tongue a gunfire-
slowly
slowly
the knife absorbs my energies
becomes
cloth & lattice
chalice & plate
a fusion of aroma
rises & setting aside my knife
I walk back to
repair what I just tore
making amends
my voice softens as I
call the family for
dinner
Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Thanks for the visit ~
Picture credit: here
What a great set of knives.. good that you could mend those dagger words :-) and hopefully a real treat to eat as well.
ReplyDeleteI love that ending . . . the knife absorbing and the repair.
ReplyDeleteA good choice. It is hard to separate na good cook from their kife. >KB
ReplyDeleteSuch a perfect metaphoric poem, Grace.Especially appreciated how you blended it all together.
ReplyDeletethere's something meditative in cutting vegetables and i like how it brings your soul to rest as well...how the cutting makes you aware of the words that cut and how you mend things with your fam again
ReplyDeleteThough I do not cook much, I enjoy making salads or many of the reasons you touched on in this fine piece; yes, the butcher block holds 8 assorted very sharp knives, and I sometimes like to use the largest blade for it makes the chopping & dicing so effortless; and slicing meat, or flesh, never competes with the delectable crunch of slicing vegetables; a fine bold long poem, laced with layers of meaning.
ReplyDeletenice...i cant get going to fast or i start cutting digits off...ha....i like it as the king reigning over other things in the kitchen....words def have sharp edges and cut like knives...or they can give life....making amends....
ReplyDeleteI am sure that your knife has helped you make many wonderful meals, Grace. It might be a bit dull, but I am sure it is familiar. Sometimes there is sentimental value in such things, and even if one COULD replace them with a 'newer model,' there is comfort in the old! A touching write, Grace.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who enjoys cooking, I could relate to your poem, Grace! I like the idea of prepared food as a means to mend or enhance relationships.
ReplyDeletePerfect metaphor. How our knives become a conduit for our anger, funneling our energies until absorbed into our creation and inner peace returns.
ReplyDelete(Wish I'd written it!)
Anna :o]
wow. Yes, our words and actions can be every bit as dangerous as a knife.
ReplyDeleteKnifes - great poem and more here than just something to cook with. That incision into the soul.
ReplyDeleteAh love the way the knife melds into metaphor here - more things than knives can cut and kill - words can really hurt one. Lovely poem, Grace.
ReplyDeleteI'd probably chop my hand off knowing my luck
ReplyDeleteLoved the contrast in comparisons here your son's style and yours. Then you took it deeper weaving in relationship. Well done.
ReplyDeleteI like the meditation on the knife. It's power to hurt or work to nurture. Nice, how you worked in the depth of repentance, when we slice the feelings of our loved ones.
ReplyDeleteGrace, that is very interesting -never thought so much story could exist in cooking, smiles.
ReplyDeleteI could read this forever .... So special.
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ReplyDeleteKnifing vegetables is very cathartic :) Enjoyed this lovely domestic scene.
DeleteNice metaphor....love potato salad....working through the thoughts by chopping a good exercise for the mind...
ReplyDeletei am very possessive about my kitchen knife ... chopping and slicing is a very relaxing exercise
ReplyDeletewell crafted, Grace, putting us in the moment ~
ReplyDeletePutting us in the moment, yes, and also keeping us there till you bring us to your safe ending.
ReplyDeleteI like to do chopping and the expression and the feelings as one is absorbed in the act of knives... I know of it.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the entire tale created around knives... how some words are like daggers and sublimating your energy into knives and repairing the damage caused by some words of anger. Well-penned.
OH WOW! This is so good...the sharpness of knives, and words, and how the cooking and making of a meal can soften us at our heart too, and the calling to eat - an order or a loving invitation? Love how you closed this with the latter. Well done!
ReplyDeleteYou have two poems here--that last stanza stands alone. Both bring experience home! I am thinking how my brother wouldn't carve the turkey until he bought a knife sharpener, about how the new knives I got for Christmas have cut mainly apples, pears and cheese, not flesh or bone at all... thinking about the sounds of cutting on a board and how much more satisfying they are than pillow punches. I smile, delight in this poem.
ReplyDeleteLetting the aggression out while paring the food is much better than letting it out on someone's flesh haha. Love what you did here.
ReplyDeleteWonderful use of metaphors on the knives. What a incredible narrative poem that goes through such stages and ends in healing. Cooking and Cutting can be a great way to clear the mind.Well done Grace.
ReplyDeleteAh, with your object poem, you painted motherhood in its highs and lows. :-) Beautifully done, Grace. :-)
ReplyDeleteLoving all these words, knives, foods. Standing our for me was the so-well-stated
ReplyDeletethought-action of making amends, the change taking place, soft voice calling out, "Dinner, everyone."
Thank is the one behavior here which is not natural, the "I'm sorry" and the change which occurs. BEAUTIFUL, Grace. (And "Grace" it IS, what makes these happenings.
I like the image of the knife absorbing the negative energy. Sometimes it is important to allow yourself some to expell those energies before your ready to feel the light again. lovely!
ReplyDeletelove this, Grace - the resolve is lovely in the final lines - beautifully expressed - K
ReplyDeleteJust came across this now, Grace: better late than never! Double-edged this poem, like the knives you describe. The loving, creating, nurturing aspect of family life, and then the sharpness of daggers, the stabbing pain. Beautiful!
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