POEMORAMA AT PAPER POETRY
Rum-Soaked Raisins
Morsels — bright and sweet
Rum-soaked raisins In a bitter cake — Our love — taboo — Wrapped in white linen drape.
History — dull as night Leaves the warmth — saves the cold Our passions — extinguished In defense of our souls.
Morsels — bright and sweet Rare as time — together All mixed and folded Into mud-colored batter.
May 15 is the anniversary of the death of Emily Dickinson. She was, in her time, a famous baker. Her recipe for Black Cake was legendary. The confection is named for its color — which is derived from bitter, burnt sugar or molasses — and also for its origins through the horrible Caribbean slave trade to New England in the 1800s.
Oh yes, and Ms. Dickinson was also a prolific poet. She wrote nearly two thousand known poems, almost all of which were published posthumously. Many of her writings were deliberately erased, elided, or burned after her death, partly to whitewash the fact of a passionate life-long love affair with her sister-in-law.
Jim Dutton © 2022
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Thanks for reading!
Celebrating National Poetry Month with the good folks at Paper Poetry. This is in response to Poemorama Part II which is a word prompt. The italicized words in my short poem above can be found in the prompt:
