{"id":6754,"date":"2020-04-15T16:40:32","date_gmt":"2020-04-15T20:40:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dinnertime.com\/content\/?p=6754"},"modified":"2020-04-15T16:40:32","modified_gmt":"2020-04-15T20:40:32","slug":"food-is-poetry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/2020\/04\/15\/food-is-poetry\/","title":{"rendered":"Food is Poetry"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"It doesn\u2019t have to be National Poetry Month for me to appreciate poetry. More than ever, I have been focusing on all the poetry found in my world. No, I\u2019m not talking about reading tomes of poetry; I\u2019m seeing it and feeling it.<\/p>\n

When I watch an athlete or musician become immersed in their performance, I feel like I’m watching their<\/em> poetry. Sometimes, when I’m in the midst of cooking, I feel<\/em> the poetry of food.<\/p>\n

Just like words in classic forms of poetry express thoughts and sentiments, I can feel the emotions of food: the cooking, presenting, tasting and even the choices I make as I prepare the food. I\u2019m presenting a mood or sentiment. Ever heard of \u201cprepared with love” or \u201cfood for the soul\u201d? My friend makes pancakes in the shape of hearts to show her love for her children.<\/p>\n

Take a moment and notice how certain foods evoke a memory or emotion.<\/em>\"\"<\/h3>\n

I wish I had the skill to put into words the peace, joy and love that I feel while cooking. I yearn to wax poetic about the joy of blackberry eating in the fall like Galway Kinnell<\/a> or the essence of onions by William Mathews<\/a>! Who doesn’t love Dr Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham\u00a0written in iambic tetrameter<\/a>? And of course, there are iconic songs about food such as Weird Al Yankovich’s\u00a0 Eat It<\/a> and Cheeseburger in Paradise<\/a> by Jimmy Buffet, both lyrical homages to food.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, there are many famous poems about food and cooking<\/a>\u00a0that we can enjoy. My favorites are the sillier poems by the late, great Shel Silverstein<\/a>. He believed poems should be read aloud. Read favorites such as Everything On It and get silly with your own suggestions of what else should go on the hot dog (see below). I also love his poem, Italian Food<\/a>, perfect to read aloud at the dinner table and have everyone suggest additional lines.\"\"<\/p>\n

Old or young, it\u2019s fun to make up silly poems about food. Wouldn\u2019t this make a great daily project as we are all finding ways to stay engaged with each other. Have your children read them to their grandparents or other friends over Zoom or, make into cards to send to nursing homes.<\/p>\n

Try simple poems such as a haiku<\/a>. Our family favorite style has always been the limerick. It\u2019s easy and doesn\u2019t have too many rules (plus we just lean towards anything silly!) Here\u2019s a guide for writing limericks<\/a>.\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There once was an apple all red and shiny…<\/em><\/h5>\n

 <\/p>\n

We\u2019d love to read your creations! Send to feedback@dinnertime.com<\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Roses are red<\/span><\/h4>\n

Violets are blue<\/span><\/h4>\n

Dinner we shall be fed<\/span><\/h4>\n

‘Cause we’re hungry too!<\/span><\/h4>\n
<\/h5>\n
You can search for more great recipes in your\u00a0DinnerTime Recipe Box<\/a><\/h5>\n
\n

\n
Apple-and-Sage Pork Chops<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/h5>\n
Baked Ravioli<\/span><\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Chicago-Style Hot Dog<\/span><\/a><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

An apple a day keeps the doctor away!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Oh, how I love Italian food.<\/em>
\nI eat it all the time,<\/em>
\nNot just \u2019cause how good it tastes<\/em>
\nBut \u2019cause how good it rhymes.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I only eat them<\/em>
\nwhen it seems that life could use<\/em>
\na bit of mustard<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It doesn\u2019t have to be National Poetry Month for me to appreciate poetry. More than ever, I have been focusing on all the poetry found in my world. No, I\u2019m not talking about reading tomes of poetry; I\u2019m seeing it… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6779,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6754"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6754\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp2.dinnertime.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}