monks once used egg whites
to starch their habits crisp clean
dumping yellow yolks ~
but a waste not want not pledge
inspired a baked custard tart
in an act of grace
their heavenly recipe
was kept secret sold
What was that one line story?
That my parents told me,
What was that one line story?
I believe it said, “it’s important to be clean”
Stir away your soul,
Make your world all your own
Serve yourself away,
Wipe away the stains from the corner
Keep your soul strong
And get your in order!
Then you are,
All baked, All better
Then you are,
All baked, All better
Take out the sugar from the cupboard,
Hold the spoon still in your hand
Don’t stir yourself silly,
Happy Hurt Day to your Gran
And don’t stand still for a moment,
Look, I baked you a cake
Eat away your heartache,
And we’ll bake ‘till our feelings, we can’t fake
Serve yourself away,
Wipe away the stains from the corner
Maintain a strong soul
Get your in order!
Then you are,
All baked, All better
Then you are,
All baked, All better
Get your in order!
So you are,
All baked, All better
Blue ribbon excellence she said with glee
Judging a cherry pie made just for me
Crust as sweet and flaky as it should be
I love the baked goods of my cousin Vee
A pot am I made some two decades back,
Baked too but not enough,
In search of a good kiln
To rid some half-baked fluff.
And then to set sail
In this ocean of life.
Why?
Go far without getting drowned,
Someone is waiting there for me.
Who?
Not sure, I’ve to figure out
Nor I know who he is,
Nor why waiting he is.
When will you be fully baked?
That is my question too.
When or if ever.
_____________________
Free verse |21.01.2025|poet, ocean, life
Poet’s note: Poetry, like literature, arts, philosophy, science etc is trying either to find this world, other things, or one’s own self. Yet, one is unable to do so beyond a point. A poet feels inadequate and the underlying pain of his gets reflected in his creations as an echo of his struggles to search and find out.
Easy to please an ignorant,
Easier still, man of talent,
But too hard ‘tis a call
To please half-baked know all,
Whom, even gods of heaven can’t.
_______________________
Translation | | please, ignorant, intelligent
Poet’s Note: Bhartruhari was a poet king in central India in the seventh century CE, who when disillusioned in love renounced kingdom and became an ascetic. Neeti Shatakam, a compilation of hundred verses on moral values was written by him along with Shringar Shatakam on romance, and Vairagya Shatakam on dispassion and renunciation. This verse on fools is taken from Neeti Shatakam.
Ajnyah sukham aradhyah sukhataram aradhyate visheshajnyah |
Jnyana-lava-durvigdham brahma api naram na ranjayati || 3 || Metre: Arya
They tease me,
Vying for my attention
Behind the bakery display case.
Voluptuous, some bursting with fruit,
The brazen, the coquettish,
They tease me.
Which to pick?
The Austrian strudel or Danish
Vying for my attention?
Impetuously taking her
In my car, from
Behind the bakery display case.
. Did you know that there is a place we can go
Enjoy some soup, Poetry Soup that is I love it so
All kinds of ingredients go into the pot to cook,
You don’t believe me? Right now just take a look
There is wonderful poetry some of it you can write
Places to learn about, so many that are out of sight
There's art from the classics see how many you spot
Stories are fun to read, some in rhyme, some not
All the forms of poetry, some short, some are long
All will tell you about your poetry what is strong
Competitions to enter so welcome right along
You can write short stories if you are inclined
Just sit back read great poems, to unwind
Important ingredient still one more
It will be your favorite I am sure
The one you come back for
It’s the friends you make
Combine it no mistake
Mix it with friendship, to bake
Bake slowly til tender and easy eaten
Take a big taste your life will sweeten
Promised a honey baked life by Uncle Sam,
a V.A. loan, and a mini-van.
Three kids and a fenced yard.
It should be attainable to those who
worked so hard.
They served, they sacrificed as mother's wept,
came home to be forgotten to a government
that's inept..
Our unsung hero's who fought gallantly, are
supposed to be our nations first priority..
I sat on what we have always called our marked bench and smoked.
Just wish you were here with me, because we could have toked,
The sad thing is I only wish you would be a little more stoked.
As with a well baked cake,
That will not be palatable,
If one does not have a recipe to follow,
And take too may shortcuts,
A well baked friendship will need the right amount of patience,
And tastes better if you don't add any soft soap.
Friendship like a well baked cake,
Needs to be baked at the right temperature,
And if you have faith in the cooking process,
With an accurate means of timing,
And know how to cool things down,
You will not be opening the door to a half baked cake,
Or a half baked friendship.
As for the icing on the cake,
One needs to understand that some cakes,
Taste better without it,
Just as some friendships taste better,
Without extra benefits.
Most of us experience baking disasters in our lifetime,
But that does not mean we should stop baking cakes,
Or give up on looking for lasting friendship,
That come with or without the icing.
A brown sugar glazed ham every holiday dinner planned
Christmas and Easter and New Year tradition
beside that turkey with Thanksgiving cheers
those holiday feast with family we remember dear
Crowned with pineapple rings attached by cloves
the smell in the oven baking tempts your nose
Display on the dinning table center stage
sweet meat candy the holiday rage
Sliced thin so more to go around
Happiness the taste of the holidays profound
Holiday baked ham and sweet potato pie
french green beans and cornbread muffins stacked high
mashed potatoes with plenty of gravy
mac and cheese and don't say maybe
So many foods and treats but that baked ham we love to eat
With bone or without, spiraled or whole there is no doubt
a favorite for the seasons and your tummy full
when first out of the oven the smell makes you drool.
You're looking hot
Deceptive skin
I lust to know your
Soft within
A slice in two
Reveals your soul
Accompanied
With salad bowl
I scoop away
Your very heart
Combine with cheesy joy
To start
Then pop you back
In skin replace
Moments before
I stuff my face
For veggies first
That is the rule
As rhyme destroys
'Poetic cool'
Often prejudged
By outer shell
By those who know you
Less than well
And yet, potato
Your simple heart
Intends to nourish
From the start
I wake to all
That you can be..
The master of
Versatility
CV
potato salad
baked taste red orange sunshine
causing bubble guts
Birds baked in pies, babies rocked out of trees
Kids all falling down from some dreadful disease
Young Hansel and Gretel
May wind up in a kettle
What tormented minds write stories like these?
12/4/22
Memories of childhood days long past
When summers seemed to last and last
And in those summers' days long gone
In memory the sun always shone.
And I remember now
Something quite funny;
Most of the time
We had no money.
Not yet men yet not quite boys
Past the stage of playing with toys
Long days spent on Cowden beach
Two miles away so in easy reach.
And life was a wheeze a joke a jape
As almost daily the girls changed shape,
And, one of the things I remember the most
Was Mrs 'Odsons baked beans on toast.
Many a mum was put to the test
But Mrs 'Odsons were always the best.
These days they still have
Baked beans of course
But they seem to have messed
With the sauce
And what I think
Is such a waste
They seem to have gone
And changed the taste.
Simple pleasures, simple ways
In those long past summers' days.
Poor in possessions
But rich in joys
Just a Yorkshire village's
Growing girls and boys,
And when Mrs 'Odson played the host
Yummy scrummy baked beans on toast.
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