The prompt for Poets and Storytellers United is food as a ritual
Sugar spun laughter
Once, every year
in the Netherlands,
three days of funfair,
the air sweet with
sugar-spun laughter and
Dutch potato salad,
creamy and cool,
olives sparkling
like crowns on soft-boiled eggs,
ham folded in silky layers
tomatoes bursting with juice.
Pickles, crisp and tangy,
hanging around hassle-free
in the salad.
Food, a ritual.
All day,
the house hums
with voices and footsteps.
Family arrives,
warm hugs and clinking glasses,
Come in, sit down, share a drink,
taste the salad,
let’s go to the fair,
and drink from the glass of joy.
I love the sense of family and belonging being savoured around the table - delicious! Jae
ReplyDeleteWow again! I've not missed a birthday with candles in my 92 years. But we don't make such a big deal here.
ReplyDeleteI can feel the warmth and excitement! I love 'the glass of joy'.
ReplyDeleteI really love ❤️ this, Marja.
ReplyDeleteVery nicely narrated, brought back some of my early memories of similar but different celebrations.
ReplyDelete- I can relate to this because it was common in our patriarchal society structure, where all relatives used to show up in one house during such annual festivity. With the new societal structure, those traditions are waning. Today satellite families goes and celebrates such occasions in the restaurants - it can never be the same. (sorry for going this far with my rants)