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I Never Liked Celery–

General Poetry - post, comment, review, critique
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Tracy Mitchell
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I Never Liked Celery–

Post by Tracy Mitchell » Tue Jan 26, 2021 6:32 pm

~
I Never Liked Celery–

a food non-entity with that annoying after-taste
but my latest food regimen [nee diet]
requires organic celery bunches for juicing

and that leaves the stubs, which I started putting in
mise en place cups with de-chloramined water
on the window sill, in honor of my late mother.

That was last winter. In the spring I dug the sprouted
celery plants into my garden, next to the tomatoes
with the idea of more space for the tomatoes

after the celery plants died. But they didn’t die –
billed as cold-weather plants, they survived a desert summer,
outliving and outlasting the tomatoes and beans and squash.

It is winter again. The celery plants are hunkered down,
have weathered several snow storms. New stubs in cups
green up on my window sill. This damn celery –

I need to tell someone, and I think of you. I am sorry
I don’t call, haven’t called you in years. This is no substitute,
I know. I don’t pretend this makes up for anything.

Jim called six weeks ago to say goodbye, but he didn’t
actually tell me that. We talked about the old days,
about how curious life becomes. He died later that night.

And you, my friend. I need to tell you I am still pissed
I had to weed your family garden alone all those years ago,
as a punishment intended for us both, before you skipped out.

Hardly a week goes by I don’t think of something more.
We had much to re-chew, insult each other one more time.
But I did not call. I didn’t open that door –
I couldn’t bear to say goodbye.

~

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Colm Roe
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Re: I Never Liked Celery–

Post by Colm Roe » Wed Jan 27, 2021 6:54 pm

Unusually conversational for a Tracy poem; but that works well here.
The casual narrative is like the N's mind excusing himself for not doing what he knows he should have done. Triggered by Jim's death he realises his mistake.
The last two stanzas are subtly poignant. I clearly see them,  kids doing what kids do. Getting into trouble, slagging each other off...and the pranks  :lol:
I'm on the fence with the last line?  Maybe find a way to use end instead of goodbye?Anywho, loved the read.​​​​​

indar
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Re: I Never Liked Celery–

Post by indar » Sat Jan 30, 2021 10:43 am

My first reaction to the death of a friend or relative is anger---it's a completely acceptable item on the list of the stages of grief. I read this as a displaced anger with the one being addressed by this poem who is summoned up by Jim's death. And the mention of the N's mother might indicate the the loss summoning up past losses. 

But maybe this poem is mostly about survivor's guilt which is both appropriate because it often asserts itself and inappropriate because it is not warranted. 

On a lighter note here is a recipe:

Ants on a Log

Clean and cut leaf and dirty ends off celery sticks

Fill concave sides with Philadelphia cream cheese or peanut butter

top with a line of raisins end to end for length of celery stick

bon appetite 

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Tracy Mitchell
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Re: I Never Liked Celery–

Post by Tracy Mitchell » Sat Jan 30, 2021 11:57 am

Until I ate my homegrown celery, I never liked it. What a world of difference. Even bigger between homegrown asparagus and the canned crap. Now I am willing to experiment with celery recipes. So thanks for the recipe and thanks for your read of this poem and your insight.

It might be survivor's guilt, or perhaps just fright-trauma at the lowering of the curtain on our generation. I don't know. The poem kinda wrote itself without much consulting me.

T

indar
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Re: I Never Liked Celery–

Post by indar » Sat Jan 30, 2021 12:06 pm

I used to compare asparagus to the green sludge one scrapes off the insides of one's aquarium--I've only really eaten one of those two delicacies.

Then I ate fresh and not canned asparagus which opened up a whole new world to me. But I've never grown my own--doesn't it take a lot of space to get a substantial amount?

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Tracy Mitchell
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Re: I Never Liked Celery–

Post by Tracy Mitchell » Sat Jan 30, 2021 1:25 pm

Ah -- aquarium protein. Never tried it, never considered trying it. Though I did once consider adding it to the soup served to an [unwanted] house guest. To my lasting honor, I resisted.

Asparagus -- only middling on the space thing -- its a perennial, so it is a long-term space commitment. Farmers Markets are a better option for me. In Mn I lived not far from a couple wild asparagus spots, but I wasn't the only one who knew about them. :roll: :roll:

T

Dave
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Re: I Never Liked Celery–

Post by Dave » Sun Jan 31, 2021 4:32 am

Hey Tracy
I enjoyed this chatty poem. While one could mess around with various repetitions and line endings, it would undoubtedly spoil the easy flow. I am curious about the last verse. I am confused by the tense and seem to be the only reader unsure who it is addressed to. Jim phoned the N before dying so it is not to him it seems. It appears to be to an unnamed friend but the rest of the stanzas that refer to him or her are present tense. Am I being thick here?

Dave
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Re: I Never Liked Celery–

Post by Dave » Sun Jan 31, 2021 4:33 am

The PC is messing around posted the message twice, sorry.

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Tracy Mitchell
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Re: I Never Liked Celery–

Post by Tracy Mitchell » Sun Jan 31, 2021 8:56 am

Hi Dave,
Thanks for the read and comment. This was my attempt at an epistolary poem -- written as a letter to someone -- direct and intimate. After five stanzas of beating around the bush, the N. starts addressing an old friend, in stanza 6, with whom he had precipitously cut off contact some time previously. I also experimented with the use of a 'conceit', which is the celery banter.

The reference to Jim in S.7 is to a mutual friend who died. Other than that, the 'you' of the poem from S.6 onward is the old estranged friend.

Hope this clears it up. Perhaps I could lay some additional trailmarks if you have a suggestion or two.

Cheers.

T

Matty11
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Re: I Never Liked Celery–

Post by Matty11 » Tue Feb 02, 2021 1:57 am

Hi Tracy

I've read this several times. Epistle for a simple title. The fact it is a letter does knit the two halves more. My initial readings really enjoyed the vigour of the celery section more than the shift in tone in the friendship section. However, I recognise that is my own reader preference, rather than keying into the poem's purpose.

Phil

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