Leftovers Poems

Thanksgiving Leftovers

The 20-pound butterball turkey rests 
On a table laden with condiments;
We bow our heads, reach out our hands and bless
And say grace which presupposes our content.

But as we eat, the elephant harrumphs
To lead our banter and wordplay astray,
We assert on Gaza or butterball Trump 
Or some other donnybrook of the day.

Alas, the turkey is now quite slighted
And acrimony stuffs the upper hand;
Our argued points are skewed with gestured knife,
Though not a one convinced to alter stand.

Afterward, leftovers are jammed into 
Vacuum bags should we choose to someday use.

Leftovers

And another day
has flopped down in front of you,
resting after last night's stormy
lovemaking between earth and sky -
you take your seat near where the river
whispers its secrets as it does
every morning. It shows you
its hoard of driftwood and plastic
bottles. To it, all is prized, all given
a home.

Habit has you pushing thought boats 
out into the channel hoping they'll 
be carried into the bay then out
to open sea, finally washing up
on the shores of someone else’s mind,
or sink mid ocean to become part
of something bigger although 
you can never figure out what that is.

People pass with faces carrying
an invitation and a need to talk.
Your eyes are elsewhere, staring 
through and beyond them 
as if they were glass, out pass
landscapes, air, everything -  to a place
that is no place, just nothingness.
Sometimes you feel as if 
you are about to dissolve, not knowing
into what. The river, you're sure,
would prize the leftovers.

Estate Sale

Advertised as an Estate Sale
Which I took to mean
Not just yard sale discards.

Here are some 
Of the things you could obtain:

Aluminum baking pans
Plastic punch bowl
Four segments of track from a train set
Discolored tea-towels with embroidered edges
Christmas themed throw pillow
Velvet painting of sailing ships
Flimsy dollar-store wall mirror
Cheaply framed picture of Jesus
A used tire with "free" sign taped to it
Tupperware, a bit stained
Tiny shelf for back of toilet
Chipped bowls and plates
Mismatched spoons
Wobbly lawn chair
Book club mystery with coffee cup circle
Bread basket, slightly crushed
Half a box of staples
Cookie tin, rusty inside
Fragile teacup with handle glued back on
Melamine resin plates
VHS tapes in sun-faded boxes.

The leavings of a life
Can certainly be sad.

Using Leftovers

At the end of a meal, we take all that is left,
Wrap it up to consume the next day,
With the cycle repeating until all that food
Is devoured, but not thrown away.

Same with sewing a project – what fabric remains
When the quilt or the pillow’s complete,
Joins the remnants from previous stitchings I’ve made
So the next time, their patterns I’ll greet.

There are those who are savers and those who are not
But no matter which side you’ve embraced,
If you toss out your leftovers – fabric or food,
You have wasted what must be replaced.

Thanksgiving Leftovers

There once was a gobbler named Tom,
Who thought himself quite the fowl homme,
Though hens thought him a cad,
Pilgrims thought he was rad,
Especially stuffed, roasted and basted...nom, Nom NOM!!

Welsh Leftovers

I swallowed hard the feelings scorned,
to finish off my plate

But filled I was in sated form
a glutton postulate

I bit off more than I could chew,
with meat still on the bone

My stomach full of fiery barbs
—leftovers unatoned

(Villanova University: January, 2020)

Holiday Leftovers

When hosting a holiday meal
There's always a certain appeal
To food that remains 
For you've taken such pains
To prepare it, it seemed an ordeal.

But after the guests have all split
If you're honest, you'll have to admit 
That your efforts have paid
Since the food that you've made 
Can be eaten for days, bit by bit.

Leftovers

Leftovers

Don’t let Christmas come in too much of a hurry
I really can’t handle one more turkey curry
The kids now want something else for their teas
So it’s six pigs in blankets and biscuits for cheese

Faced with leftovers for the rest of the hols
Anyone want anymore sausage rolls
A nice new year snack? The family concur
I get out the turkey... its covered in fur

So now that I’ve chucked out them old turkey loins
We’ll finish the pudding that mum filled with coins
The dentist is open next week, God willing
To sort out the molar I broke on a shilling

There’s thirty one days in every December
So why is it no-one can ever remember
The night that for good luck we don’t want to miss
Can anyone tell me when twelfth night is

So the tree’s folded up and it’s back in the loft
The best China’s packed up in something that’s soft
The Holly’s chucked out which seemed a bit drastic
When you consider that most it’s plastic

Granddad’s still sat in his gold paper hat
I ask why on Earth are you still wearing that
He says he don’t like to remove it too soon
Perhaps I should tell him it’s half way through June

Turkey Leftovers

turkey leftovers
on bread, in soups, on last legs
and all gobbled up

11/27/2018

Leftovers

downing leftovers
zingless pasta microwaved
haphazardly 

8/26/2018

Leftovers

If I could find
within my mind

a way to erase
all traces of time

Then I would start
to tear apart

words stuffed away 
in mind and heart

The ones that hide 
and still abide - 

the pain that feeds 
the hurt inside

And if I could
I surely would

leave only things 
left for the good

Leftovers

O circus, circus 
the ox and his Fergus. 
The whale took a bite of the moon. 
The carnivore gasped to see that chomp.
And the pig civilized the baboon.

Leftovers

Leftovers, leftovers what a treat
open the fridge to see what to eat
Chinese from last week
four day spaghetti at a flavor peak?
Something grey from way back when
butterscotch pudding with cracked top skin
Potatoes cooked but with eyes
that salad is hard and dry
Oranges that have fermented
apples that are demented
Look a bag of grandma's stew
didn't she pass in two thousand and two?
Carton of milk that turn to cheese
I think the roast beef has fleas
Fresh mushrooms we did not buy
a half eaten sandwich that waves hi
Green beans with an attitude
slice of baloney like a leather shoe
Eggs with feathers
carrots knitting sweaters
Pizza from World War One
and a loaf of bread having too much fun
Check the cupboard before something screams
looks like will eat that can of pork and beans.

Leftovers

“Leftovers” are the name of the game
That's sure not a very appealing name
They're still delicious
No matter repetitious
Should go in the Cooking Hall of Fame


© Jack Ellison 2016

Leftovers

I got so mad at you tonight...

Not because you were sassy with me,
Or simply annoying personified,

But because I worked so hard to make dinner,
      -and you threw out the leftovers..

But I sat and thought...
I should be grateful.

Because I hear very often that husbands rarely
help out when they should,
And I don't have that worry...

So Nicholas, thank you for throwing out the leftovers...

• Short Leftovers Poems
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