The smell of pumpkin
Pancakes
And maple syrup
Pervades
This space.
It's beyond
Comforting
To constantly
Have something
That smells
As good as this.
It brings me
Back
To the past --
To memories
Of baking
Pumpkin
Chocolate
Chip cookies
A one-time thing
I will always remember.
Representation
Discussion
Elation
Purple
Candle
Puddle
Wax
Hoping
Caffeine
Chocolate
Lasts.
I need
All these
Things
And
It feels
Weird
To need
Them.
We have lemons
This
Is momentous--
An organized
Pantry and
Cupboards
And food.
It feels so
Good
To be
Stocked.
Juice Cleanse
On the warmer,
Lemons
Close by.
Because
Sometimes
Life gives you
Lemons--
And so, we
Learn
To love
Lemons.
Nothing so
Comforting
As opening
Food.
Boxes
And products
And coffee
So soothing,
This new thing:
Accepting
Help.
Love is groceries
Love is here
Love is with us
Love is near
We love love
And we love food
Feeding us
Is a whole mood
Thanks for boxes
And for friendship
Essentials from
An essential
Worker,
Person,
Human,
Friend.
Boxes
Full of groceries
What
I can't
Think beyond
What the fuck
Because there's
Birthday
And then
Basics
I can't
Tell you
How I'll
Take this
Amazing
Kind and
Selfless act
How can we
Ever
Pay you
Back?
I don't believe
In sleeping
Apparently.
Six hours
Is my
Maximum.
Falling
Asleep
Is tough.
So envision
The hell
Out of
Viennese whirls
And cope
As you must
Tomorrow you'll get
Both tortillas
For lunch.
The reassurance
Of a little
Financial
Padding
Is helping.
Especially
When the
Current
Practice
Is
Price-gouging
For basics.
Finding safety --
Even a little,
Even
Temporarily --
Is a welcome
Change
To the
Challenges
We face.
Being seen
And respected
And validated
Is so rare
For us
That we
Appreciate it
Extra.
We are extra
Thankful,
Grateful,
We grovel
Over basics
Because we
Are taught
That if
We do not
They might
Be yanked
From us
Without
Warning.
Nourishment
In this era
Of fear
And vulnerability
Is so vital.
So let's fulfill our
Basic needs
For actual food --
And also for
What feeds
Our souls --
What supports
Our emotional
Growth.
Let's let the
Examples of
Humanity
Not go
Unacknowledged
Or
Ignored.
Feed yourself
And feel
Your stuff
And know
You are
Enough.
Spending so much
Dough
To essentially
Make
More
Dough.
This is
The irony
Of quarantine.
A return to salt
And peanut butter
It's some consolation
As I struggle
With my lack
Of cold brew.
But I'll make due
As I do,
Knowing the Snickers
Will eventually
Come
From New Jersey.
Try again
To feed ourselves
To nourish
Not deplete ourselves.
Try again
To see ourselves
To be there
And to free ourselves.
Try again
Affirm ourselves
To learn ourselves
Not burn ourselves.
Try again
We are worthy
We are worth this
We can do this.
(Oh, this old thing?)
Yes,
Why yes,
We can.
Opening packages -
Finding 12 million
Milks - only 2
Casualties.
Worthington candle
Smells better
In my
Imagination.
Book club
Exists now, yay!
So happy
To share
All the
Book love.
All the things
Arriving
Make me
Happy
And secure.
Like candles
And food --
Because I
Can't not
Talk about food.
And food insecurity
Is still so real.
But feeling
Better
For the moment
And that
Is something.
GROCERY DELIVERY -
It's a red-letter day
Because
The food-insecurity
Monster can
Rest.
But
In its place
It has returned
Illness-anxious monster.
I like to think
That both
Are as cute as
Dragon
Is -
That both can be
Cuddled and soothed
To sleep.
Because safe actions
They happen
24-7
And we will
Be okay.
Anger bloomed
Inside
Before I even
Opened my eyes.
What use are
Diamonds
When I can't
Access food?
Without your
Judgment?
Without your
Abuse?
It's ludicrous --
The mask you
Use --
The one you once
Forced me to wear.
Acting grateful
Living there.
So immature
It's hard to measure.
I'll show you where
To shove
Your treasure.
Today, it was
Masks, Evan
Hansen. Writing
And talking
About skin
Tearing -- not
Stretching.
Today, it was
Joan of Arcadia,
Basic candle,
Baking and
Thawing
Bread.
Today, it was
Beginning
To run low
Again.
Food insecurity
Again...
Kindness
Again.
Loving
Again.
Coping
Again.
Being
Again.
And we've circled
Back to food
With hardly a day's
Break.
Food insecurity
Apparently
Always here
With me.
Hunger gnawing
Fear clawing
Again,
Always.
Question to ponder:
When
won't
My poetry
Revolve
Around food?
I don't know--
Maybe never?
Since this
Shows no
Signs of
Stopping.
(Adapt, come
on, you lovely
Adapting, you --
You've got this.
This new normal
Has nothing
On you.)
