Tonic for Spring
recipe
sulfur and blackstrap molasses
teaspoons one part to two parts
professed to cleanse the blood
nothing a good iron fleam blade couldnt fix if one had the stomach and gumption
or perhaps an enticed leech reared in a springfed freshwater
lake
these were beginning to sound like specialty rolls at a sushi
house
raw eggs work
some prefer it with a touch of milk and coarse ground black pepper
while others find them repellent because they have something to do
with raw chickens
cant beat garlic or kale
legumes or soybean pods he
was partial to calling them edamame
none of the letters creep off beneath the lower line of a Primary
Ruled Printing Tablet which return him thoughts of one-inch ruling Bond paper its
trusty companions the Ticonderoga #2 Beginner Pencils their tactile
smooth round yellow barrels
Prousts madeleines did justice but memory isnt confined
alone to scents or tastes
theres a weight in the hand a turn of a
phrase sensations a place
all Tonics
and other tonics toxic things
better left alone or struggling to forget
banished for reasons none of which should have to
be explained
that
are and that existence suffices
that which exists is
and even when it becomes was / Is
perhaps toxic is vitriolic malignant perhaps
inappropriate
or
maybe it just feels that way to some people
to others who have forged ahead mustered their way
beyond the was / Is of their experience who are grappled and clutched who are sought
to be arrested by sincere others who feel they ought to be grateful for their time
and
as that time expired
are somehow obliged to rarify or vivify their Past
made Subjects to their memory
living
as a Memorial
rather than a human being
one takes a tonic to refresh
to invigorate
tonics taken Spring Summer Fall Winter as needed
or
necessary
and best ingested alone
1510, Thursday,
11 7. 13
0911, Thursday,
4/20 ‘23
