Saturday, June 5, 2010

lamb chop

for Elspeth


It was a long summer
of pastries and Pavarotti.

Little did I know,
craving donuts and opera
would bake up a tasty cream puff
with a mouth wide for song.

Not till that judge tossed his pencil
and leaned back in his chair,
did I realize your splendid bakery.

Sometimes the recipe was wrong,
but you opened those brave chops
and sang like a daughter of God.

The ovens have been hot.
Your crust is not as tough as it seems.
After the wild flour settles,
your sweet bel canto
puts Krispy Kremes to shame.




willow, 2010






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89 comments:

  1. My mouth is watering after reading this poem, willow!

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  2. Oh - something BETTER than Krispy Kreme? It's hard to imagine...

    I enjoyed the floury imagery & imagined my father, who can't do ANYTHING without singing...

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  3. The motto of Willow, a true opera lover: "Vissi d'arte, vissi d'amore."

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  4. Superb!!

    Love the combination: food and music


    loveNlight
    Gabi

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  5. What a beautiful tribute to your beautiful, talented daughter!

    Brava!

    Hugs,

    ♥ Robin ♥

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  6. "Little did I know,
    craving donuts and opera
    would bake up a tasty cream puff
    with a mouth wide for song."

    ...huh, I craved grapefruit juice and spanish olives. Wonder what that means?

    Love your mix of sweets and singing alongside the image.

    - Dina

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  7. A wonderful poem for your daughter; & yes, a good operatic voice is better than Krispy Kremes!

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  8. I take advantage of this cosmic event (being an early bird) to tell you two things:

    1. Lovely poem!

    2. I've got a treasure hunt (with prize!) going on over at my place - come see!

    Love,
    M

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  9. Wonderful poem for Elspeth! I miss the magpies. I've got to make the rounds.

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  10. Oh, how interesting. Your daughter is going to love this!

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  11. Beautiful, Willow. Now, I've got to go to the sidebar and see what that slice of something is.

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  12. I loved the line "with a mouth wide for song" . . . I'm jotting it down so I can chew on it for awhile. And now I'm going to search for baked goods.

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  13. From so much goodness, good things come!

    Such a delicious and savory tribute to your tasty cream puff.

    Brava to you both!

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  14. Lovely poem for a lovely girl.
    She is blessed with many beautiful gifts.
    We were so honored to have her sing at our wedding...she is amazing.
    I also really like your singing girl statue...it's so happy : )

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  15. Wonderful word play with two such sensual topics.

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  16. Pastries and Pavarotti sounds like an awesome combination to me. I think the part about "your crust is not as tough as it seems" can be taken more than one way. So I like that too.

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  17. Like a daughter of God. Oh yeah.

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  18. yes willow yes. the metaphor is sweet and complete. bravo!

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  19. oh simply wonderful.. she'll love it

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  20. Thanks everybody! Lamb Chop happens to be my pet name for her, by the way. This one came together so fast and easy!

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  21. It rings well, but remains as elusive as some of Leonard Cohen. You are usually more succinct and direct. Are there too many c's in my succinct?

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  22. Aha. A daughter in competition. Aha.

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  23. Very nice indeed, makes me hunger for good food and music.....bkm

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  24. Marc, lots of competitions when she was younger, more auditions these days. She's an opera singer!

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  25. There is a community course this summer called "Falling in Love with Opera"...Hmmm...maybe just maybe...then I thought, I don't need it...I have Willow & Derrick to guide me through! I craved green cooking appples right off the tree and blueberries with my first born...and got a blue and a brown (now turned hazel) eyed baby boy....but no opera! I love this poem to your beautiful Elspeth!
    (I left a response to your
    recent comment at TKR.)

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  26. Colourful skills; almost able to reach into the monitor and taste the results.

    CJ xx

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  27. You are a really cool mother!

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  28. Hah!

    Beautiful poem with a hilarious (and totally unexpected) final line.

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  29. Love the alliteration here, esp in "pastries and Pavarotti."

    A most succulent poem, Willow!

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  30. I immediately thought this is about your daughter--wonderful images here. And great photos, too! Wish I could hear her sing one day! Joe and I are big opera buffs.

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  31. This poem shows your wonderful command of lyrical poetry. So rich with imagery and meaning.

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  32. aren't children a wonderful legacy? i love the "crust not as tough as it seems" imagery. great job!

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  33. I know this is weird - but I pictured Simon on American Idol leaning back in his judgment seat - and to go from him to "your splendid bakery" - it made the judge and his judgements seems so small .... I ramble :)

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  34. I gave up donuts this year, but I still go to the Metropolitan Opera. By far the best production that I saw this season was the elaborate Turandot, by Giacomo Puccini. The staging of this production brought us all to tears. There were so many people on the stage, and the colors or their costumes and the groveling of their postures, gave us all chills. Turandot has a happy ending, but the staging was so amazing that we all cried. If you are able to see this at one of the subscription theaters, do so. It won't be on next year's schedule, and I doubt that any other company could pull off this opera in just the same way. The video cameras were on the day we saw Turandot. So I imagine that it is out there somewhere.

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  35. So glad to read you again after being gone awhile. Wolfy says the K. Kreme had a good quarter financially-I've never enjoyed Krispy Kreme; they give me a tummy ache. So glad to "see" you, Willow!
    PEace,
    Chris

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  36. Nothing better than music, a donut and your lovely poetry, Willow. By the way, isn't today National Donut Day?

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  37. Angie, National Donut Day?!! So it is. I knew there was some reason I felt the need to post this today. Gosh, I'm so psychic.

    Happy Donut Day everybody!!!

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  38. Well, I liked the "music" more than the Krispy Kremes. Must be something VERY wrong in my house!

    On a liquid "diet" for a few weeks! Besides, I'm a musician!

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  39. Should I say this poem is music to my stomach? ; )

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  40. You bring together your love of opera and food with great creativity. I have always thought that the essence of good blogging is to proclaims your passions in a way that engages the non-passionate. You demonstrate this admirably.

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  41. Willow such beautiful lyrical words are these! A magpie that titillates the senses. It evokes visions & smells that excite the taste buds!

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  42. A loving and tender tribute, with such disparate elements as Krispy Kremes and daugters of God, as disparate as the ingredients of life. As father to a daughter who has played piano and cello since the age of 3, I find this poem very moving. Writing like this ensures us that the "wild flour" will never completely settle.

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  43. Hello Willow,

    I wonder what sweetmeat Elspeth may see herself as? Lovely poem and lovely new background colour too!

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  44. Food & Song.Perfect Combo!

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  45. Oh what a lovely poem to your beautiful girl, willow

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  46. This melts in your mouth, in the delectable sense. (I just watched a wonderful youtube by fivetravel about the Malfi coast, and this fills me like that, strikingly.)

    I came over from Lorenzo's supportive sidebar, another stop on the gorgeous coastal drive.

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  47. Willow,
    the singer casts her notes, coated with powder sugar, upon her mother's heart.
    So Willow: loved it!
    rel

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  48. What a perfect tribute..pride and love.. mother/ daughter ...sweet talents!

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  49. Oops. Should have been Amalfi coast. :|

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  50. Such a beautiful poem, Willow--and what a blessing for you to have a daughter who bears the fruit of the tender seed you planted in her, that rich love of opera!

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  51. Willow....this is beautiful. Lucky ladies your daughter and you!

    I got my mouth wide open for some huevos rancheros this morning. Thanks for bringing me somewhere lovely before I feast.

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  52. What a fabulous little sculpture, I wish she was in my garden. Great poem, Willow! I'm so glad you introduced us all to this writing group. Might pluck up the courage to take the challenge sometime :)

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  53. Wonderful..craving donuts and Pavarotti...you speak from your heart with such love and light!

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  54. Fine food, opera and wonderful poetry, this post certainly is a delight to the senses :D

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  55. You are going to publish your poetry, aren't you? My Lord, woman! I am not exaggerating here.

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  56. You are a hard working wordsmiths,
    yet you make it seem so effortless and easy!
    I am delighted.
    Thank you! :-)

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  57. I love opera. I love Pavarotti. I will always love Pavarotti.

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  58. Pastries and Pavarotti - what a fabulous combination...nothing better - unless it's pasta and Pavarotti. Wonderful poetry and such a special tribute to your daughter!


    At 65, I've done it! My poetry book - Life's Journey by Carmen Henesy - is out on Amazon!
    ( Poems about the things that have been important to me in my journey through life, some humorous, some sad, some that may have meaning to you as well )
    http://www.amazon.com/Lifes-Journey-1-Carmen-Henesy/dp/1451547366/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274652997&sr=1-1

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  59. I loved this sweet ode to your daughter ... my mother had to sit through many hours of flute competition watching as I attempted to win that Superior rating everyone else wanted. I wonder what went through her mind ........

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  60. Sublime; poetry and sculpture. Elspeth is a gorgeous name. If I could have chosen a gift that I do not possess, it would be an operatic voice.

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  61. WOW!
    I love that!

    And, I love to hear what people call their children...almost everyone dubs their child with a pet name whether they admit it or not! Love Lambchop.

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  62. Lovely, and I adore the singing bust. Reggie

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  63. Mmmmm...let's see what's for breaky this fine Sunday morn...I know...coffee and a muffin, I'm goin' antiquing...!

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  64. Willow! It's Sunday a.m. and you have just succeeded in making me ravenous...goodbye oatmeal, hello pastry! Love your writing and novel approach to subjects. You make my day.

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  65. an entirely edible scrumptious posting willow. pastries do sing when their the very best! steven

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  66. The discovery that pastry and Pavarotti can and do go together is so new to me. On my way to becoming an Opera-addict thank-you very much Willow. I can understand the sublime and the ridiculous combined in this way now. The beginning and the end; the whole "hole" Krispie Kreme thing; a completed opus a genius of a poem! Song is always sweeter than sweet! Yes, mmmm... Excellent!

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  67. Nice tribute, but who is the subject of the sculpture?

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  68. what a beautiful loving tribute to your talented daughter of whom it is more than obvious you are very proud! magnificent, lady willow!

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  69. Martin, I bought this metal bust in an antique shop in Marion, Ohio, about 20 years ago for $15. I did some research and found that she was originally wired as an electric cigarette lighter, with the lighting mechanism in her mouth. I would guess she's from the early 1920's.

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  70. A metal bust? A cigarette lighter? Now you tell us! Go Lamb Chop!

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  71. Just you wait, James Levine; you'll lick your lips twice over this cream puff!!
    :) Uncle of Opera

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  72. Great poem for a fine daughter. She's done us all proud!
    :) The Bach

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  73. never noticed the recipes before and today I read through them. YUM!

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  74. I ate up every single word here. I love the part that read"
    "but you opened those brave chops and sang like a daughter of God."
    Simply beautiful.

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  75. You had me hooked at 'pastries and Pavarotti.' I love how unique this is, such great images. Plus I'm a sucker for both pastries and Pavarotti (I may not be able to eat pastries all day, but I can sure listen to him 24/7).

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  76. what delightful magpie,
    you are thoughtful, loving, and caring as a mother...
    Cheers!
    Stay Cool.

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  77. I too love pastry and Pavarotti!

    Maureen's Scribblings

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  78. Willow, love the way you've worked on this prompt- so different, delicious.

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  79. Tantalisingly good. Creative and original. Joyful.

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  80. Wonderful! What a great pairing!!

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  81. ahhhh! What a wonderful dedicated piece! I had a huge smile while reading it.

    Pastries, Pavarotti and a huge keg of beer would be my hubby's ideal day off!

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  82. willow-complicated yet not--sensual and sensuous--Lambchop is a work of art. Speaking of art, I love the new look of your blog

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Inject a few raisins of conversation into the tasteless dough of existence.
― O. Henry (and me)