Food Poetry #1

Mmm...two of my favorite art forms combined into one. Delicious. I hope to make this a fairly regular feature on my blog--there's a lot of good food poetry out there. It's my mission to share it with the masses. Here's a poem by Julia Kasdorf (who grew up in a Mennonite family/community) about Mennonite women and how we feel about food. This poem helps me explain to my husband why I tend to cook too much and why I must save everything in Tupperware containers. It's in my genes.

When Our Women Go Crazy

When our women go crazy, they're scared there won't be
enough meat in the house. They keep asking
but how will we eat? Who will cook? Will there be enough?
Mother to daughter, it's always the same
questions. The sisters and aunts recognize symptoms:
she thinks there's no food, same as Mommy
before they sent her away to that place,
and she thinks if she goes, the men will eat
whatever they find right out of the saucepans.
When our women are sane, they can tomatoes
and simmer big pots of soup for the freezer.
They are satisfied arranging spice tins
on cupboard shelves lined with clean paper.
They save all the leftovers under tight lids
and only throw them away when they're rotten.
Their refrigerators are always immaculate and full,
which is also the case when our women are crazy.


This reminds me--I need to clean the refrigerator. It's full, but definitely not immaculate. And one of my goals for this summer is to learn how to can my own tomatoes. And I have to cook a big pot of something for potluck at church Sunday, and a dessert to take to my family tomorrow. Am I crazy yet?