Poetry Friday: "Onions"

With Thanksgiving still in mind, I chose William Matthews' "Onions" as today's selection. It's not a kid's poem but more of a cook's poem. I love the first couple of lines, "How easily happiness begins by/dicing onions. A sweet lump of butter..." You can find the whole thing at the Poetry Foundation's site. There's lots to admire here; from a "tumble of onions," Matthews goes deeper,  into something much more elemental.

Liz B. at A Chair, A Fireplace and A Tea Cozy has the roundup of everyone participating in Poetry Friday today. Go visit and hang out. Read Liz's posts about Thanksgiving books and the "Jingle Dancer" puppet show, too. It's Friday, time to kick back, yes?

While you're reading around, check out Rudy Garcia's "A Chicano Bilingual Teacher's Thanks-Giving" at La Bloga. Only a little bit  to do with poetry, but impassioned, angry, and interesting.

Comments

[eisha]

Wow. Thanks, Susan. That is truly an incredible, powerful poem.

[Susan]

Eisha, I liked it a lot, too. The beginning reminded me so much of cooking in my first apt.

[cloudscome]

I love that onions poem! It is exactly how I feel when cooking onions, especially the part about the whiff of scent that lingers on your hands... and the murmury animal comfort of infants...

[Susan]

Cloudscome, I'm glad you liked it. I like the smell of garlic on my hands, and thought of that when I read the poem. I enjoy poems that take me from something familiar into something deeper, and surprising.