like god
Like God.
It is a cramped portion.
An acrid taste in every slice.
Salted with notes of cracked pepper.
It sees, through a dark glass,
Hoping to remember.
Where it will go.
Outside the glass
There are such dishes
That apotheose.
The ortolan bathed in the
Toffees and chocolates of armagnac.
Naked and set to roasting—
I eat the sparrow whole,
Guilty as my mother bore me, and
It is a happy, jubilant slight—
For I am free.
Like God.
7 thoughts on "like god"
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This poem has such a nice shape and I like it beginning and ending with the same phrase. Some great images such as “notes of cracked pepper” and “I eat the sparrow whole.” It’s slightly mysterious. I think I know what it’s about but I’m not completely sure. Many of my favorite poems are like that. They can be read different ways.
always happy to share here. always happy to see you. no, this one isn’t obvious. in fact, it’s rather brutal in a sense. and joyful too. I’ve never gone through single change where I wasn’t kicking and screaming at a point, or easing in like something delicious.
Amen, to that (your last).
Agreed with Linda. “I eat the sparrow whole” was by far my favorite line but many equally intriguing (and challenging) to parse.
thank you Joseph. And to both of you I enjoy that you rest your thoughts on the phrases, and let yourselves go somewhere. Even if you are not sure, or just curious.
Eating the sparrow whole is so compelling because it’s not made a fuss of, just slid in there as a fact, like a cat would do. Seeing through a glass (darkly) I also like. The feeling I have when I read this is like having someone lead you somewhere (through the poem in this case) and they keep going around corners and saying “pssst! This way!”
I can’t believe any of my god loving readers haven’t caught the happy, jubilant slight bit :). I really like how you likened this poem to a cat….. sneaking in the alley, saying, you want some of this? come I show you. 🙂
A veritable meal
A lifting of the ordinary to the sublime and, like god, a mystery