I really enjoyed this exercise. Not sure how good a poem I wrote, but I enjoyed writing it, which is maybe the point. Here it is:
***
How to make a grilled cheese sandwich
Drop some butter into a small sauce pan and let it melt.
Toast up two pieces of bread.
Smear them with butter on one side.
Lay one slice butter side down on the fry pan.
Turn the heat on low and let it sit.
Add one thick slice of cheddar to the toast in the pan.
Lay on two strips of crispy bacon that you were smart enough to have prepped ahead of time.
Drizzle the cheese and bacon with that knock-off sriracha-sauce you bought a couple of months ago but haven't dared to open yet.
Lay the other slice of toast on top, butter-side up.
Get the heavy spatula out of the rack under the sink where we keep it.
Press down firmly on the sandwich until your arm gets tired.
Flip it over, do it again.
And again.
And again.
Until your sandwich has compressed to a flat, crispy golden square, bacon and cheddar leaking out the sides and dripping into your frying pan where they steam and sizzle away.
Lift it off the hot frying pan and carefully lay it on a plate.
Slice it in half diagonally.
Always diagonally.
Serve with potato chips and a coke.
***
How to Come Home
Drop some coins
into the green ticket machine and let it beep.
Take up two tickets
Paid in full.
Crease them and
Hide them in your wallet.
Put one out to use now
Inside the station.
Slide your suitcase into the rack
and let it ride
Add one souvenir
From the cart to the pile of gifts in your bag.
Pull out the book and the headphones that you were smart enough to have prepped
ahead of time.
Turn on your music
and open your book
To that passage you keep coming back to and fail to read it again because
You have it
Memorized.
Play the music you have queued,
Volume up.
Remember the heavy spatula in the rack under the sink
where we keep it.
Press down firmly on the emotions, tears
until your eyes get tired.
Restart the playlist,
do it again.
And again.
And again.
Until your composure has returned to a flat,
Businesslike resolve,
Memory and worry leaking out the sides and dripping tears out of your eyes where they are brushed and scrubbed away.
Get off the hot, crowded train and
carefully make your way to a place
Where you know how things are done and where you always have
How to Find a Moment of Peace in the Middle of a Hectic, High-Pressure Day
First, you need two
small slices of time. Make sure
the slices are about
the same size.
Freeze those slices in
your mind. Put some leftover
love on a plate and top it with
BBQ sauce. Heat the love for
one minute in the microwave.
Next, you need to
spread gratitude on one slice of time
and hope on the other.
Mix the love into
the BBQ sauce after heating it.
Spread the love onto the slice
with the gratitude
and put a piece of sharp wonder
on the other slice of time
where you spread your hope.
Close the sandwich
and heat in the microwave for
another 30 seconds
to melt the wonder.
Cut the sandwich in half
if you wish,
and then enjoy
your moment of peace!
Iām going to give this a try!
I really enjoyed this exercise. Not sure how good a poem I wrote, but I enjoyed writing it, which is maybe the point. Here it is:
***
How to make a grilled cheese sandwich
Drop some butter into a small sauce pan and let it melt.
Toast up two pieces of bread.
Smear them with butter on one side.
Lay one slice butter side down on the fry pan.
Turn the heat on low and let it sit.
Add one thick slice of cheddar to the toast in the pan.
Lay on two strips of crispy bacon that you were smart enough to have prepped ahead of time.
Drizzle the cheese and bacon with that knock-off sriracha-sauce you bought a couple of months ago but haven't dared to open yet.
Lay the other slice of toast on top, butter-side up.
Get the heavy spatula out of the rack under the sink where we keep it.
Press down firmly on the sandwich until your arm gets tired.
Flip it over, do it again.
And again.
And again.
Until your sandwich has compressed to a flat, crispy golden square, bacon and cheddar leaking out the sides and dripping into your frying pan where they steam and sizzle away.
Lift it off the hot frying pan and carefully lay it on a plate.
Slice it in half diagonally.
Always diagonally.
Serve with potato chips and a coke.
***
How to Come Home
Drop some coins
into the green ticket machine and let it beep.
Take up two tickets
Paid in full.
Crease them and
Hide them in your wallet.
Put one out to use now
Inside the station.
Slide your suitcase into the rack
and let it ride
Add one souvenir
From the cart to the pile of gifts in your bag.
Pull out the book and the headphones that you were smart enough to have prepped
ahead of time.
Turn on your music
and open your book
To that passage you keep coming back to and fail to read it again because
You have it
Memorized.
Play the music you have queued,
Volume up.
Remember the heavy spatula in the rack under the sink
where we keep it.
Press down firmly on the emotions, tears
until your eyes get tired.
Restart the playlist,
do it again.
And again.
And again.
Until your composure has returned to a flat,
Businesslike resolve,
Memory and worry leaking out the sides and dripping tears out of your eyes where they are brushed and scrubbed away.
Get off the hot, crowded train and
carefully make your way to a place
Where you know how things are done and where you always have
A place.
Always.
Open the door with hugs and
a smile.
What a great idea! I'm going to do this on my Mental Flossings substack.