Interesting poems related to foods or eating?

September 7, 2007 4:58 PM

Interesting poems that A) are related to foods or eating in some way, B) would take less than two minutes to read out loud, and C) are in the public domain (or are otherwise available for non-commercial use without seeking permission)?
posted by sparrows to media & arts (15 comments total)

On top of spaghetti,
All covered with cheese,
I lost my poor meatball,
When somebody sneezed.

It rolled off the table,
And on to the floor,
And then my poor meatball,
Rolled out of the door.
posted by poppo at 5:06 PM on September 7, 2007

Andrew Marvell's 'The Garden' has this delectable stanza:

What wondrous life is this I lead!
Ripe apples drop about my head;
The luscious clusters of the vine
Upon my mouth do crush their wine;
The nectarine and curious peach
Into my hands themselves do reach;
Stumbling on melons as I pass,
Insnared with flowers, I fall on grass.

(And you have to wonder whether that was the inspiration for T.S. Eliot's 'Do I dare to eat a peach?')

William Carlos Williams' obvious candidate isn't out of copyright, alas.
posted by holgate at 5:15 PM on September 7, 2007

Not food, but close:

"A Catch", by Henry Aldrich:

If all be true that I do think,
There are five reasons we should drink:
Good wine, a friend, or being dry,
Or lest we should be, by and by...
Or any other reason why.

posted by Flunkie at 5:15 PM on September 7, 2007

I have eaten the plums
That were in the icebox
And which you were probably
Saving for breakfast
Forgive me
They were delicious
So sweet
And so cold
- William Carlos Williams
posted by nasreddin at 5:15 PM on September 7, 2007 [2 favorites]

Thanks, more please! Best would be evocative poems that have interesting images (holgate's example above is perfect).
posted by sparrows at 5:21 PM on September 7, 2007

I feel like there are tons in Lewis Carroll - Beautiful Soup comes immediately to mind. I guess a lot of the poems deal with food but most are not primarily about food?
posted by crinklebat at 5:52 PM on September 7, 2007

What's That Smell in the Kitchen - Marge Piercy
posted by theora55 at 6:06 PM on September 7, 2007

sorry, it's still in copyright, but it's a great poem
posted by theora55 at 6:23 PM on September 7, 2007

Seconding the William Carlos Williams, but the linebreaks should be a little different. Try here.
posted by Hypocrite_Lecteur at 8:59 PM on September 7, 2007

Parsley is gharsley.
posted by fermezporte at 9:33 PM on September 7, 2007

Like you I
love love, life, the sweet smell
of things, the sky-blue
landscape of January days.

And my blood boils up
and I laugh through eyes
that have known the buds of tears.

I believe the world is beautiful
and that poetry, like bread, is for everyone.

And that my veins don't end in me
but in the unanimous blood
of those who struggle for life,
love,
little things,
landscape and bread,
the poetry of everyone.
-Roque Dalton
posted by bluebird at 2:42 AM on September 8, 2007

You may find some stuff that meets your needs here.
posted by GrammarMoses at 1:32 PM on September 8, 2007

BTW, I recommend The Clean Plater.
posted by GrammarMoses at 1:34 PM on September 8, 2007

Sorry to keep at this, but I found this and thought everyone might like to see it.

CHOWDER

To make a good chowder and have it quite nice
Dispense with sweet marjoram, parsley and spice;
Mace, pepper and salt are now wanted alone.
To make the stew eat well and stick to the bone,
Some pork is sliced thin and put into the pot;
Some say you must turn it, some say you must not;
And when it is brown, take it out of the fat,
And add it again when you add this and that.
A layer of potatoes, sliced quarter inch thick,
Should be placed in the bottom to make it eat slick;
A layer of onions now over this place,
Then season with pepper and salt and some mace.
Split open your crackers and give them a soak;
In eating you'll find this the cream of the joke.
On top of all this, now comply with my wish
And put in large chunks, all your pieces of fish;
Then put on the pieces of pork you have fried
I mean those from which all the fat has been tried.
In seasoning I pray you, don't spare the cayenne;
'Tis this makes it fit to be eaten by men.
After adding these things in their regular rotation
You'll have a dish fit for the best of the nation.

Author unknown
posted by GrammarMoses at 1:38 PM on September 8, 2007

something silly.

I eat my peas with honey,
I've done it all my life.
It makes the peas taste funny
but they do stick to my knife.
posted by pointilist at 8:04 PM on September 8, 2007