Stressed out? Read this while I raid the candy jar (it's filled with Dove dark chocolates -- an unintentional pun.)
by Rita Dove
Velvet fruit, exquisite square
I hold up to sniff
between finger and thumb
how you numb me
with your rich attentions!
If I don't eat you quickly,
you'll melt in my palm.
Read the rest of the poem here. If that's not enough to satisfy your craving, pick up Arnold Adoff's Chocolate Dreams: Poems. Great fun for kids & adults with a sweet tooth.
I started a new poetry residency this week, working with fourth graders at Harford Hills Elementary in Parkville, MD. Having a wonderful, but the schedule has me taking off from the bus stop in the morning and returning home 20 minutes before my middle schooler in the afternoon. Barely enough time for a cup of tea and a few of those "exquisite squares" of "velvet fruit."
My students and I were working on food poems today. Sandra Cisneros' "Good Hotdogs" is the model. I've posted the lesson -- on writing with imagery -- recently. But hot dogs aren't my thing. When it comes to coping with stress, there's only one food for me.
There's more delicious poetry at Wild Rose Reader. Elaine is hosting Poetry Friday today.
