A bagel worth its salt should have
A smattering of seeds,
‘Cause sesame or poppy
Is what every bagel needs.
A pumpernickel, though, requires
Caraways mixed in
And those that we call “everything”
Most always score a win.
To anyone who orders “plain,”
I have one thing to say:
(And do not get me started
On blueberries in the way)
I understand some seed-o-phobics
Think that they deserve
A bagel in its purest state,
But what you might observe
Is most New Yorkers find that seeds,
And more than just a smattering,
Are what, with New York water,
Make our bagels really mattering.
Bagels butter biscuits with
Raspberry Jam
Eggs
And
Keep the mystery meat Spam
Fruit
Apple Pancakes
Syrup hot
Tea ready to eat
I can't tell if you care.
Or if you notice
ice cream bars left at my apartment,
hazelnut chocolate,
you said you didn't want it
Do you just want to feel
heat in your palm,
a push on your shoulder
Something?
in your chest,
in your hands,
the lack of rest, clothes full of sand
Am I just fun
someone you go to
when you can't sleep,
basketball, crunching leaves
To you?
a voice filling an empty room,
crossword puzzles, guitars out of tune,
bagels, gummy bears, sleep in 'till noon
Did those two seconds mean nothing
a handshake, caffeine to stay awake
movies, burnt popcorn, the flowers I gave
to you?
"I don't know what to say,"
a cold walk home, clenching my waist,
salt water, hope, streaming down my face
I have a headache
I've had it for the past three days
warm showers, waiting for
hours,
it won't go away
I can't tell if you care
like I do
a chipped fingernail,
I don't know what I mean to you
Frigid temperatures filled the square
Rigid opponents chilled the air
Deriding him a radical socialist
Unbridling the race to get him off a ballot list
The city was arm in arm, in protest daily
Whites, Blacks, Arab and Israeli
and what came up to all’s surprise
Mayor elect—Mamdani’s rise
Along came the 112th Mayor elect
Strong spent are the people who'd select
Lines stretched around doters
Awaiting hours were his voters
Indulges in a city reborn it’s bagels and lox
Sworn in over the subway station docks
Hand upon Islam’s holy text
A marvel of a man who’ll govern next
Swearing words of conviction and not of pity
I swear, to bolster and defend this dynamic city
Mayor Mamdani
promises New York City ~
a hopeful journey
New Year's Day
1/1/26
Nutritious food, how bad can it be?
I stood in the organic section, wanting to pee.
Aren’t you glad you came with me?
This was my healthy cousin, Little Lulu Lee
I will meet you in the park said her brother Gore
I watched him sneak into the bakery next door
Have to potty, I’ll see you in the park too I said.
I stocked up on muffins, scones, bagels and bread.
I don’t want to go to the store.
Picking up my coat.
Which makes the air feel worse.
Outside,
Is where they go.
I entered the store.
Hiding in the bathroom.
It’s as if no one will find me there.
Hahaha!
I like the flickering lights.
The startling sound of the hand dryer.
Wakes me up.
The hand dryer shuts off.
I breathe out.
They hate me.
She sent me to the store.
To get.
Bread. Toothpaste. Olive Oil.
I wrote all that down.
I’m lost.
Aisle 1, 2, 3, 4…
Racing by me.
What if I got in a car accident?
And the groceries would fly throughout the car.
Aisle 5,6,7,8…
I want to go home, I don’t want to be late.
I also…
Don’t want anything ever again.
Need to get bagels too, I think.
1,2,3,4,
I promised to take an hour then be out the door.
I don’t want to go to the store.
You already went, honey.
I don’t know.
Hooray! Hooray! It’s Bagel Day!
Or so I’ve heard it said,
So substitute a bagel
For some ordinary bread.
Since many so-called “bagels”
Don’t have what it really takes
To be authentic, you may find
You’ve scarfed down lots of fakes.
Do not be fooled by circled dough
Around a center hole.
They must be dense and chewy
Like New York ones – that’s the goal.
Now other places have their fans,
(Hats off to Montreal!)
But some who serve a puffed-up version
Have a lot of gall.
To me, some seeds are needed -
Poppy, sesame and, too,
In pumpernickel, caraway,
And more than just a few.
A bagel’s a delicious treat
So eat it your own way,
But I need no reminding,
For I eat one every day!
You're all invited to my party.
No, not Jack or Jill or Marty.
I'm inviting apple strudels,
pies and tarts, the whole caboodle,
custards, puddings, buttered scones
(with muffins and bagels, I'm not alone),
cookies, croissants, an eclair,
and my lovely baklava, so dear.
Rigmarole and bagels? Chewy.
Foolishness is hard to swallow;
Wrought iron gates of the cafe,
served up fresh with adagio;
Rippin’ through all that ivory,
nursing an Americano;
The musician in the archway
served up fresh with adagio;
Relax into the melody
seeping from the old piano;
It looks like such a rush to play,
served up fresh with adagio;
Cotton smile the vibe’s so easy,
good coffee is an instant flow;
They come for a sip and then stay,
served up fresh with adagio;
Framed with an untarnished palm tree,
a vampire-owned business will grow;
Dusk or dawn breakfast is all day,
served up fresh with adagio.
A hands-on workshop was such fun
In Montreal today.
We made real bagels, all from scratch
In a yummy, local way.
Our teacher made us feel at home
(Makes sense - he lives there, too!)
As, patiently, he demonstrated
What we had to do.
Eleven of us washed our hands
And tied our aprons on,
Then measured the ingredients
And mixed ‘til they were gone.
We kneaded and then shaped the dough
With Will to supervise,
Then watched them boil and added seeds
And, much to our surprise,
We made delicious bagels
And our group felt really proud!
As a born and bred New Yorker,
I was thrilled and also wowed.
If you visit Montreal, make sure
You find Will’s class and go
For a wonderful experience
That will delight you so!
“Better to shun the bait than struggle in the snare”
William Blake
With a fragile earth warm, I lure my Labeo rohita.
Minute minnows manage many magical Mackerels.
Shrimps attract snapper, arowana, and tilapia.
Aren't baits also in the form of bread, biscuits, and bagels?
Best cows as baits to lions, fleshy fawns as baits to tigers
Live dogs lure the crocodiles, and greens charm the elephants.
Covets, cravings, wants, wishes, inclinations, and desires
Are poured into the human psyche to find their relevance.
We consume the bait. Baits consume us. Irrationally!
With their colour, form, shape, beauty, and lure, I'm imprisoned.
I enter this trap, this hole, and this grave casually.
I struggled all through my life as though fate had commissioned
The piece of butter and cheese, with bread and fish relishes
Which being, I do not know, enjoys each of these dishes?
My son Jacob, he follows traditions
Religious, he has certain ambitions
He prays to God three times a day
I think he even knows what to say
Straight as an arrow, and square as a box
Jacob took a liking to bagels and lox
Sister snitched: Jacob prays right before he eats
~ that I don't slip a slice of pork in his daily treat
For Terry Flood,* since you insist,
Here, in rhyme’s my shopping list:
Orange juice and Starbuck’s (iced,
Even though it’s overpriced),
Bagels, Swiss and muenster cheese,
Whitefish salad, frozen peas,
Broccoli and salad greens,
Carrots, berries, nectarines,
Melons, muffins, chocolate treats,
Licorice or gummy sweets,
Ice cream, cookies, corn chips, bread,
Hummus, pesto, peppers (red),
Eggs and butter, IPA’s,
Pasta meant for many days,
Chicken, mushrooms, sometimes meat –
Think that makes my list complete.
(For omissions, I’m to blame
Since rhyme, not shopping, was my aim!)
*a fellow poet on Poetry Soup
I love Jewish food,
So does my tum,
It makes my mouth water
And delights my tongue.
I worked in the City.
Of London years ago
London brings back memories,
That I treasure so.
I used to pass a Jewish Deli,
As I walked along the street,
The smells coming from that Deli,
It smelled marvellous to eat.
A little bell tinkled as I opened the door
The aroma of Wally in spiced vinegar
It was a smell not to ignore.
These pickles were in a huge barrel
Made of wood and copper,
You placed your hand into the tub
And hope to find a whopper.
One of my favourite Jewish foods
Is chopped liver
The thought of it now
It makes my taste buds quiver.
Upon the shop counter, I spied,
Mozzah and Gefilte fish
It was hard not to purchase
Every single dish.
I adored Latkes,
Flat Potato Cakes
Just thinking of the flavour
It makes my stomach ache,
Freshly baked Bagels,
A bread roll shaped like a ring
Solly, the deli owner,
Sold everything.
I will always remember shopping.
At Solly's old-fashioned deli,
I have fond memories of his shop
And so does my belly.
The holiday cabin smelled of wet pigeons
but it was lakeside and cheap.
The lake was not popular,
too deep and weedy for swimming,
too shallow for docking boats,
yet it suited our make-do mindsets.
Of course,
we were romantically attached at the hips,
feet glided upon air
as we wandered upon the pebbly beach
fingers entwined in a dank mist.
Graham crackers and marshmallows
were unpacked
alas the firepit was soaked
with too much leafy fog.
A desultory fire was sparked
in a damp bed beneath a mildewed roof.
We had only tomato soup, tough bagels
and a pack of Marlborough.
We had not planned for chills and hunger.
Inevitably the vacation
grew lukewarm.
Runny noses and sneezes,
the cheesy smell of wet footwear
all seeped deeply into our gestalt,
philosophically
we bailed on the quickly drenched dream,
and each other.
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