American poet Arthur Macy seemed to have a sense of humour. The few poems of his I’ve read are neither grand nor long-winded, but quite touchingly simple, with a good-natured wink at life. Here are two food related poems I thought were sweet, but that also encapsulated something about the eating experience. Firstly, how love, and our need for social interaction, are as essential to our nurture as food. And secondly, how all our senses “should be” engaged when we sit at table together.
Dinner Favors
Give me but a bit to eat,
-Arthur Macy
And an hour or two,
Just a salad and a sweet,
And a chat with you.
Give me table full or bare,
Crust or rich ragout;
But whatever be the fare,
Always give me you.
The Five Senses
Oh, why do men their glasses clink
When good old honest wine they drink?Wine is so excellent a thing
To lowest subject, or to highest king,
That every sense alike should share
The pleasure that can banish care.
Thus may each merry eye behold
The sparkle of the red or gold.
Our lips may feel the goblet’s edge
And taste the loving cup we pledge.
While from each foaming glass escape
The precious perfumes of the grape.
But ah, we hear it not, and so
We give the touch that all men know.
And thus do all the senses share
The pleasure that can banish care.And that is why the glasses clink
-Arthur Macy (1842-1904), both poems in the public domain
When good old honest wine we drink.
This article was very insightful and well-written.