Three themed poems by Peggy Landsman

Three poems
by Peggy Landsman
Theme: Food


à la carte

My love knows I'm hungry.
He buys the most expensive Emmenthaler he can find,
An assortment of fresh Noah's bagels,
And for my sweet tooth--Devil's Food donuts...

I want a meal with no holes.

My love knows I'm hungry.
He serves spaghetti--al dente, delicious haricots verts,
And for dessert, he dangles--
The reddest red licorice...

I want a meal with no strings.

My love knows I'm hungry.
He hides the onions,
Sighs a gigantic sigh of relief
Believing we're out of hot pepper.

I don't need to chop onions to bring tears to my eyes.
I don't need hot pepper to sneeze on the truth.
Man does not live on bread alone--
He frequently feasts on forbidden fruit...

I want a meal with no lies.

************************

He Dreamed He Came Back As A Pear


I'll cook half a cup of brown rice
Eat it plain and clean
Along with thin-sliced carrots
The brightest green, green beans

I'll chew each mouthful fifty times
Polish off each grain
When I'm done, I'll go outside
Indulge the touching rain

I'll flirt with rhododendron
Rub noses with jasmine air
Dance down peacock-feathered passageways
That lead to a perfect pear

A pear so green and golden
Sweet beneath its skin
A pear that used to be a man
In another life.

***************************

Sabbath Blues


Feeling gutted
as the Friday-night chicken,
I've been soaking for ages
in my Epsom-salt bath.

Emptiness
swallowed by tears--
existentially
kosher.

I unplug the drain,
remain in the tub;
watch as the water
storms down.

The steam disappears;
I'm cold and I'm damp.
I'm getting a cramp
in my neck.

I know I should rise,
rinse the salt from my skin;
goose bumps march over
my flesh.

What was it that Lot's
nameless wife sacrificed
her entire future
to see?

The chicken tonight
must be tender;
its wishbone is crying
for me.

Author bio:

Peggy Landsman's poetry and prose has been published in both online and print literary journals and anthologies, including The Kerf, Thema, Spindle, The Muse Strikes Back (Story Line Press), The Largeness the Small Is Capable Of (Score Press), Bridges (Indiana University Press), and previous issues of Clockwise Cat. Her first poetry chapbook, To-wit To-woo, is available from FootHills Publishing. She has a website at Peggy Landsman.


Editor's note: "à la carte" previously appeared in The Liberty Hill Poetry Review; "He Dreamed He Came Back As A Pear" previously appeared in Dream Machinery; and "Sabbath Blues" was previously published in Poetica.