Enga mellom fjella

Tea & toast

Tea & toast

Tea & toast
and the fragrance of cut roses,
the touch of rough stone
reminding calloused flesh
it's still alive,
a bone meagerness of nothing,
of shallow breath,
of the passage of lost time.

Strong tea
for the bitterness of life,
elixir of poison keeping us alive.
And toast
that burnt offering of wheat
pounded into oblivion, bleached,
the sustenance of starving kings
and peasants.

We hold the rose
to ward off the rot of flesh,
scrape our hide across the stone,
reveal the bones.
The pain of breathing in
reminds us we're alive,
though tattered.

Tea & toast,
the fragrance of a yellow rose,
the touchstone sloughs
through to the shallow breath of bone
through a passage of lost time endured,
atoned.

© 2008 Kåre Enga [165.294] 2008-10-10

There was a short story read last night and the image of tea and toast (or tea & toast) served as a prompt.

ME:

The sweet smell of red wine swirled around a goblet at ZACC.

The smell of sweet-alysum on Orange Street.

The sweet smell of maryjane wafting down the stairwell of my apartment building.

The smell of roses in my room.

Ah ... the sweet sweet smells of Montana!

I went to a gathering of poets on Wednesday. A reading on Thursday and another reading and music on Friday (both New Lakes). None tonight ... but Second Wind is Sunday. No open mic, but someday ... .

I'm glad I went because I get the notion as to how things are done here in Missoula. And I can encourage some of the younger writers. John Myer did very well with short poems last night. Not an easy thing to do.

I think I'll make business cards with "Sentinel"  on them. Hmmm ... larryp was kind enough to mention it in his poetry newsletter this week and it has garnered some new reviews. I'm happy. If you haven't read it you should; it's very short.

Need to work on Sushi. I need copies at ZACC for the Montana Book Festival coming up.

Blogville

Quiet on the blogging front, but some folks who took a hiatus are back! This is good (for me, if not them ). I just need to remember to add some new folks to my favorites. And make sure I check on those who haven't blogged for awhile. Send an email maybe.

Montana: 45º at 14:28; clouds and sunshine. Snow on Lolo but not as snowy elsewhere as yesterday.

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