Sunday, January 22, 2012

Wasabi Me

From Boris Hoppek's Tokyo exhibit "Ever"




Wasabi Me


Waterproof,
you can't be bothered
with sufficiently annoying
nonsense.

So you minimize,
arrange neatly 
categorized implements
like a surgeon,

cut away seaweed,
anything bothersome
that might wrap, cling,
make your head swim.

But sushi happens to be 
your favorite food,
one you can't live 
a single day without.





tk/January 2012


Listen to this swell reading by R.A.D. Stainforth:
(He posted his elusive face at Black Dogs today,
in case you've been wondering.)



Join The Mag creative writing group.



60 comments:

  1. I'm just trying to imagine where she needs a little touch of Wasabi!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ah, now I'm craving a plate of edamame and a spicy tuna roll... something I rarely crave in the deep of winter.

    ReplyDelete
  3. ok- so now I am hungry for shrimp! Lovely poem Tess!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I must agree of Cro Magnon! nice one Miss Tess!

    JJRod'z

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh my poor nose ... however I love sushi! And your poem.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'll have a little wasabi sprinkled on my su-she--oooh, was that too bad? Hello, Internet inspectors!--grin!

    PEACE to you, too!

    ReplyDelete
  7. You know what I love? That I have to read this more than once. That I have to search between the words for that which you would hide.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I enjoyed this poem so hamachi.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great combination the words with the imagery.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I am blown away at how the picture led you to sushi... amazing poem, Tess!

    So do you want us to refer to Magpie Tales as The Mag from now on?

    http://lkharris-kolp.blogspot.com/2012/01/warning-small-package.html

    ReplyDelete
  11. Tess,
    Not being a sushi fan I failed to see it 'til I looked through your eyes and words.
    rel

    ReplyDelete
  12. like rel i didnt see it until you said it!

    ReplyDelete
  13. loved the sushi reference with this prompt -- brilliant!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Laurie, so many were calling Magpie Tales "The Mag" I decided to go with it...feel free to refer to it either way...

    ReplyDelete
  15. We'll be having fish for dinner ... did I mention I forgot to cook it ... yes it does taste revolting ... some of this wasabi shit will help ... but seriously raw fish is good for you ...

    ReplyDelete
  16. Nice picture. I love sushi but these days I feel guilty gobbling up tuna.I don't want to contribute to their going extinct.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Oh yes! I'm with you! A sushi moment indeed!

    ReplyDelete
  18. oh dear, i see it now....could catch

    ReplyDelete
  19. Only you! Cro Magnon's comment made me laugh out loud! You keep such good company!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I love this:

    "Waterproof,
    you can't be bothered
    with sufficiently annoying
    nonsense."

    And your use of seaweed was a really nice weave.

    ~Shawna
    rosemarymint.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
  21. Very nicely said. Some people can practice compartmentalization of their lives, can't they. Sadly in some ways, I'm not one of them.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I do love Japanese food. I take this delightful post with chopsticks and gobble it in one bite ~

    My share:

    http://a-sweetlust.blogspot.com/2012/01/sevenling-woman.html

    ReplyDelete
  23. What a great title. Never had sushi, btw.

    ReplyDelete
  24. A superb poem...all wrapped in a neat little package, the idealized version of feminine beauty.
    Thanks for stopping by my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Witty and with humor. Great write Tess!

    Hank

    ReplyDelete
  26. ...engaging - both your photo and words... i can't remember the last time i take sushi with a chopstick.. thanks for the read!!!(:

    ~Kelvin

    ReplyDelete
  27. i love me some sushi...esp when done well...nice hint of wasabi in your words as well..smiles.

    ReplyDelete
  28. I realy liked this...even though he has to have control in everything, this one thing he doesn't, and can't, and but that is just too bad because he neads her. powerfull poem Tess.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Beautiful humor...So you minimize,
    arrange neatly categorized implements
    like a surgeon...food or life..nice work!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Thank you for the reference to Melody Gardot, an artist who had been unfamiliar to me. She is quite wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  31. I like the rawness of this (pardon the pun). And if I were going to persist with punning, I would change the last line of the second stanza to "sturgeon". Sorry. I can't help myself!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Dear Tess: That's a wrap and a half! WoWzA~! Thank you. Arigatou gozaimasu. ありがとうございます。

    ReplyDelete
  33. As Dame Vera Lynn so memorably sang: "Whale meat again" ...

    ReplyDelete
  34. DCW, I'm glad you like Gardot...she's one of my new favorites...

    ReplyDelete
  35. oh i could live on sushi..even more after reading this..smies

    ReplyDelete
  36. Clever and witty! With just a bit of bite!

    ReplyDelete
  37. Sushi is addicting! I don't know if I could eat it every day- If you had enough money,you could get someone to 'Play'it for you every day!

    ReplyDelete
  38. The only taste clinging here is a good one...

    ReplyDelete
  39. Excellent take on the prompt, everything works in this succinct, sharp-lined work.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Your posts are my favourite food.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Really lovely. And, seriously, my stomach is growling!

    ReplyDelete
  42. Hi Tess--I had laughed at the cleverness, and then unclever me had let me be signed on under a blog I started years ago and never followed through with.

    So, here again--very clever! Refreshing!

    K.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Hi Tess--I had laughed at the cleverness, and then unclever me had let me be signed on under a blog I started years ago and never followed through with.

    So, here again--very clever! Refreshing!

    K.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Life must be delicious just like your poetry....love this Tess! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  45. Quite intriguing poem.
    Seductive art work.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Woah! That one went down pleasantly!

    ReplyDelete
  47. There is a splendid tidiness about the image and that is mirrored perfectly with your verse.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Yes, Tess, I saw the sushi connection immediately. Nice one with or without wasabi!

    ReplyDelete
  49. Thanks, Tess, for the Mozart mention. "La ci darem" is one of the great ones. Yours, Berowne

    ReplyDelete
  50. I did not see sushi in this pic until I read it on some posts, and my husband saw the resemblance immediately, perhaps because he loves sushi. Terrific write.

    ReplyDelete
  51. Your comments mean so very much to me ...thank you gentle readers...you are the best...

    ReplyDelete

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