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The Gods Do Not Intervene

The battle between Athens and Sparta lasted a lifetime and more.
Men who ate lentils
Were not interfeared with by any gods,
Said Thucydides,
who is the father of scientific history.
He did not outlive his own battle,
Dying suddenly by an iron sword.
His blood spurted on his pages,
But most were saved. If one reads Greek,
One can smell,
On the pages
Blood and lentils and pointed iron. And read the first truth about the horrors of war.

poem by Stan Petrovich
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Cinderella

You always read about it:
the plumber with the twelve children
who wins the Irish Sweepstakes.
From toilets to riches.
That story.

Or the nursemaid,
some luscious sweet from Denmark
who captures the oldest son's heart.
from diapers to Dior.
That story.

Or a milkman who serves the wealthy,
eggs, cream, butter, yogurt, milk,
the white truck like an ambulance
who goes into real estate
and makes a pile.
From homogenized to martinis at lunch.

Or the charwoman

[...] Read more

poem by Anne Sexton
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Somewhere in La Mancha, in a place whose name I do not care to remember, a gentleman lived not long ago, one of those who has a lance and ancient shield on a shelf and keeps a skinny nag and a greyhound for racing. An occasional stew, beef more than lamb, hash most nights, eggs and abstinence on Saturdays, lentils on Fridays, sometimes squab as a treat on Sundays – these consumed three-fourths of his income.

Miguel de Cervantes in Don Quixote de la Mancha (1605), translated by Edith Grossman
Added by Dan Costinaş
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The person who knows one thing and does it better than anyone else, even if it only be the art of raising lentils, receives the crown he merits. If he raises all his energy to that end, he is a benefactor of mankind and its rewarded as such.

quote by Og Mandino
Added by Lucian Velea
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Cypress

I am in a field full of lentils and,
Of the sword frozen in your hands after your grip;
But war is still in the Valley of Raphaim,
And i will lay my mind in the stronghold of your love.

Let me draw water from your river of love my sweet Cypress,
For your fortified cities are with walls, gates and bars;
And you have distinguished yourself among the lot!

poem by Edward Kofi Louis
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The Tree Without Fruits

the way they handle
a tree without fruits is
crazy

it is as though
the leaves do not matter anymore

or the roots
or even the wood itself
or the living rings
within
that tell about
a certain
age

they are thinking about
a fire

they are cruel
and i think they deserve

[...] Read more

poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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The Special Bread For My Lover

Take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet ans spelt;
Mixed them in one bowl to make the special bread for my lover;
For the fuel of a cow's dung is not what she needs.

They will eat bread by weight and in anxiety,
And they will drink water by measure and in desolation;
But my lover will eat the special bread as baked from you!
For the prophets are like the jackals in the ruins and,
Their visions are false and their days are at hand.

Every vision to my sweet lover is fulfilled,
For she has now got the special bread as baked by you;
And you did as instructed by my formula.

poem by Edward Kofi Louis
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Unpacking Mother's Things

Her wedding picture’s with the recipes
for meatloaf. Months before Mother died
she saved this lock, but kept unmatching keys.

This purse holds rings and tokens. Like a tease,
a box within a box, tucked safe inside,
her wedding picture’s with the recipes.

She loved to cook. Now, here’s a bunch of peas,
some lentils and a sprig of parsley, dried.
She saved this lock, but kept unmatching keys

all sorted by some system based on threes,
perhaps, or color. Logic is defied:
her wedding picture’s with the recipes

and here’s a broken comb and two dead bees,
a postcard of a mule with boy astride.
She saved this lock, but kept unmatching keys

[...] Read more

poem by Taylor Graham
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Agony

And in spoonful oil
Kitchen is busy frying
Mustard and lentils two tablespoons each
And chillies hundred grams
And a pack of cigar or raw tobacco
In added two tablespoons of oil
Then to grind with lemon size tamarind, salt
To make tobacco chutney

And the water soaked tobacco
Kitchen is busy grinding
With salt and cashews handful
To make balls, be deep fried in oil
Be added to a masala tomato puree
To make tobacco kofta curry

And to the cooked rice
Kitchen is busy seasoning
With fried clove, cardamom, and cinnamon
Onion and ginger-garlic paste, salt

[...] Read more

poem by Indira Renganathan
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Keen to be green

I’m keen to be green like you
Though I haven't got a clue
But please don’t recycle me
Or I’ll go from green to blue

I want this planet to keep on spinning
Because with you I feel I’m winning
When I close my eyes I see those arrows
Maybe that triangle will save the sparrows

Being green is really joyful
When we’re down and getting coital
I love the way you tug your hair
When you rant about species that are rare

Because of you I ditched my car
Gone are holidays that are too far
I’ve learned to embrace being frugal
But recycled toilet paper is really brutal

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poem by Sam Street
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