Tuesday Poem: Mulling it over

 Mulling it over

   by Maggie Rainey-Smith

Cinnamon cardamom

                     almonds and wasps                      

plump imported raisins

Uncle’s aluminium pan

 the sunlight is thinner    

   Maria who is Greek is fasting 

                  orange peel floats                  

in the dark pool of wine

        I add sugar and schnapps   watch the liquid almost boil   ladle it into warm mugs

        we breathe in the alcohol   swat the wasps   remember the last Good Friday and one

       before             marvel at the yeasty buns          suck the sticky glaze from our fingers

           lift the pale crosses to our lips         knowing that Judas will betray Jesus   that  Pilate

           will wash his hands     that Veronica will wipe his face   a soldier will lance his side

           that he will chat to a couple of thieves just before he  dies                      but

drunk  on  nostalgia 

ripe  in our  loss

it  is  the  triumph

 of  the empty tomb

we  most  admire 

and   raise  our  

 hot mugs of wine

with relief,  glad

Thanks Maggie. Other bloggers are joining me in posting a Tuesday Poem this week [note this list is regularly updated]. The result is a rather wonderful online 'open mike' session or an informal poetry 'journal'. 


UPDATE [tuesday night]: I had a perfect 5 minutes this morning reading the Tuesday Poems and marvelling at the talent of poets Tim Jones, Harvey Molloy,  Claire Beynon, poet and publisher of poems Helen Rickerby, and author of 'Fifi Verses the World' Fifi Colston.   

South Island poets Penelope Todd and Paradoxical Cat joined us with a poem mid-way through the day, and Kay Cooke  slid her poem in three hours before midnight. I only discovered two overseas poets had posted: Premium T   and Vespersparrow today!

You'll also always find a poem on NZ Poet Laureate Cilla McQueen's blog. She's writing an astonishing poem in instalments  called Serial using images from the National Library. A new instalment is published every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. 


For my past Tuesday Poems see top right tab on the blog.