UGH!...NO MUG!...SMASH! BASH! CRASH!
OHH!...NO SOUP!... SMASH! BASH! CRASH!
UGH!...NO BREAD!...SMASH! BASH! CRASH!
OHH!...WE GO!...SMASH! BASH! CRASH!
kitchen clean broom sweep
chipped dishes cracked wishes weep
mess runs into garbage fun
color in my kitchen makes me smile
I must change it up after a little while
blue on Monday, on Wednesday it is red
On Thursday it’s yellow as I toast my bread
My kitchen is a chameleon just like me.
On Saturday it is pink as I drink peach tea.
My dog’s name is Thalia—
she barks when her tummy’s empty,
barks if she wants my attention,
and barks when a stranger wanders too near,
as if she owns the whole block.
One afternoon in the kitchen,
she just wouldn’t stop.
I figured—alright, food again—
so I scooped her a bowl.
But nope. Still barking her head off.
Curious, I went out to see what was going on.
And there she was—curled up on the sofa,
out cold, not a care in the world.
So… who was in my kitchen?
I was halfway to the car,
still trying to puzzle it out,
when a voice broke in—
“Wake up, Madison, we’re almost late!”
That’s when it hit me—
I’d been chasing a dream all along.
And like life itself,
it showed me that friends may be found anywhere,
but when the truth sinks in,
you see the ones who matter most
are those who’ve stood beside you
through thick and thin.
I've oft been offered but not tempted by
large helpings of pie in the sky
from too many crooks
who indeed the broth did spoil
and so as not to be sullied
by such greasy oil
I stay out of their kitchen
not because I can't stand the heat
but what's on their menu
ain't my cup of meat
apple or cherry by the slice
with a tasty pastry crust
is not a must but very nice
my absolute fave fit for a King
with taters on top of thee I sing
made with lamb
not beef that's cottage
and personal wish
as the name does imply
is a dainty dish
of homemade shepherd's pie
There's a terrible smell in the kitchen
like rotting fruit
or a dead mouse
high and lonesome, eye-watering
thin and whispering, fuzzy with grief
Whenever I think I've located it
it goes into hiding
You can bleach the sink
and empty the bins
look under the table and behind
the cupboards, but
you won't find it any of those places
Around the kitchen
I was bumbling
with pots and pans
see me fumbling
for something yummy
with an empty tummy
it was rumbling
took a long hard look
and now I'm mumbling
as there's not a lot to cook
but bread crusts crumbling
long past their sell-by date
it's ever-so humbling
but there's no point at all
this late in grumbling
about standing the heat
or beating a retreat
but better yet than
simply stumbling
out of the frying pan
and into the fire tumbling
When cooking something hot,
The oven mitts you grab.
Pulling them on, you think,
“Am I a wanna-be crab?”
I walk into the kitchen, hands not ready.
Out and in again.
Walk out without food.
there’s something wondrous
about a country kitchen
its big sunny panes
and open windows
that welcome the summer breeze
and every perfume nature offers
to mindful eyes pointed at the vast outdoors
on everything that lives and breathes in harmony
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
ever really knowing
if I'm coming or going
meanwhile
what am I to do with you
as somewhat akin
under the skin
yet now quite skint
but taking a sprint
and just for fun
making a dummy run
if I may say
it's leave or stay
quite the conundrum
of all things the sum
but when it's said and done
of the be and end-all none
for should you ever think of me
tho' unruly I could be
there's more to life than this
and banter's what I truly miss
not so much the rinky-dink
as everything including the kitchen sink
the greatest classroom
I ever sat in
was my mother's kitchen
she said
give what you want
if you get it back stay
if you don't leave
she said
you might not ever get a degree in law
but you damn well better
get a degree in people
she said
you cannot
have an independent mouth
and a dependent ass
she said
don't criticize
the recipe
only criticize the dish
she said
marriage is like
a construction company
you are supposed to build things
she said
the devil
does more harm with a lie
than a knife or gun
she said
you may not believe in God
but if you look in my eyes
you will see the results
the greatest classroom
I ever sat in
was my mother's kitchen
and I
graduated
with honors
Ollie onion had never been this mad in his life
He turned all his anger on the kitchen knife
How dare you try to peel me, you interloper, he said.
The knife was embarrassed, his face turned red.
I did not know that you were alive, he admitted.
No one told me this, I am confused, he spitted.
Ollie was not in the forgiving mood at all.
He sent that knife packing, down the hall.
There’s a whale in my kitchen
He wandered in through my sink
My cousin does some ’n
She is mean as the missing link
Ma says he takes Lulu’s groove
The whale laughed at Lulu’s plight
I say let the freeloader move
Asked whale to stay all night
Mouse turds in the kitchen
In the soup and on the pie
Mouse turds in my kitchen sink
I truly want to cry
Mouse turds on my sandwich
Boy that mouse is fast!
Mouse turd trail along the floor
Now the die is cast
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