Recipe for Life

A Recipe for Life

A cheerless man was thinking loud,
“O Lord, I have a novel wish,
“Instruct us please, to cook our lives
“Like chefs prepare a gourmet dish.”

By chance I heard this strange request,
And dwelt upon those words of his.
Perhaps I could produce designs
To cook our lives with joy and bliss.

What’s that which I need to have in,
This meal that rose from fantasies?
I’ll need utensils fresh and clean,
That may be found with utmost ease.

A large and well proportioned pot,
A lot of life, it needs to hold.
As times and fortunes ever change,
It should withstand both heat and cold.

Ensure it has no gaping holes.
Or life will pass by. Up and out…
And yet, it should be porous too,
To let the blessings held waft ‘bout

Remember… life will spring from life
The first ingredient is hence…
Fresh life! Of course, it’s rather rare,
So use it with the least expense

With hands both firm and gentle, mould
And knead it into healthy shape.
For without health, you’ll often find,
That life becomes a dreary scrape.

Some education may start once,
Intelligence begins to rise.
Add large amounts of wisdom too.
A pinch of talent would be nice.

Avoid all artificial stuff,
Like flavouring and colouring.
For nothing synthesised can match
The depth the innate flavours bring

The contents should be blended well.
Then find a place that’s calm and pure,
To set aside our pot of life,
And soon it will become mature.

To garnish, sprinkle comforts fine.
And now at last, our dish is done.
We’ve made a life both rich and bright,
To cherish under rain and sun.

Learn lessons from every sorrow
Surrender not, seize tomorrow
Share around what you’ve been blessed with.
There are many folk who need it
Life should be lived, with tons of fun
For you are given only one
It can’t be built in factories
Or produced in laboratories

And no, it can’t be written in a recipe.
So with what we have, let us learn to be happy!




Written for the contest: "POETRY IN RHYME - RHYTHM CONTEST-winner" , in reply to March prompt:
"Write a poem in which the following line must appear in the title or the text --'What’s that which I need to have' "

This poem was one of the winners in the above mentioned contest

My first attempt at accentual rhythm, I used 8 syllables per line with an iambic stress scheme. Exceptions appear in one or two bits like "What's that which I need to have", the 'Fresh Life!' exclamation, and of course, the ending. Used a 'abcb' rhyme scheme.

Decided to put the post-recipe part in a 'flurry verse' with aabbcc... rhyme and no accentual meter. 8 syllables each, except for the last pair... a 'punchline' if you will.