PB & Milk

PB & Milk

In an instant 

I had the taste of peanut butter in my mouth:

rich deep 

that quintessential nut flavor 

slightly salty.

 

I was sipping it

through a straw, 

white and cold 

thick yet slurpable

supremely smooth. 

I inhale now. 

The smell of peanuts is the first thing that hits me. 

I perk up, intrigued. 

Where did this come from? 

Why here, now? 

I continue to do what I am doing, 

confused but amused 

by this sudden appearance of peanut butter. 

But then, 

vanilla creeps in, 

coats my tongue like a velvet blanket. 

What is happening? 

Soon enough, 

the visit becomes visceral. 

I am not only remembering,

I am wholly experiencing, 

immersed deep inside like

the straw in the liquid. 

I can picture this elixir:

white 

tinted with flecks of darkened beige - 

the peanuts 

I can almost 

almost hear the slurping sound as I suck the liquid, 

the sound of glasses clinking around me as I sit in a crowded restaurant 

 

A relic of the past.

I imagine myself sipping this cool refreshing drink 

its sweetness balanced by 

a robust fatty flavor. 

It’s almost like I am. 

Full-bodied ice cream,

sugar granules dissolving under the roof of my mouth. 

Vanilla, voluptuous

It lifts all the flavors up, helps to make them sing. 

Milk, 

soft and subtle 

mellows everything out to ensure equilibrium. 

The all-embracing sweetness of this drink soothes my mouth

and my worries.  

I revel in the luxurious quality of this moment that seems to me a naughty act. 

This is the peanut butter milkshake

corona poems: silence & sound

Silence 

It fills the air

Takes up space

Seeps in the cracks

The nooks and crannies

Provides comfort 

Stability

Security 

The writer’s drug

I've been perfectly content with silence

There's a satisfying comfort in letting things be as they are

unfold naturally

Not forcing them 

because I feel like I should

Forcing them leads to inauthenticity

It becomes manufactured, created

Robbed of its spontaneity

 ***

Listening to the sounds around me 

My footsteps against the pavement

Rain drops landing on car hoods

Birds chirping

Rain gliding down trees

The rumble of cars.

Music to my ears.

Then

As I stood in the lobby of our building 

I noticed the ringing in my ears 

And I realized 

Silence 

It was suddenly utterly disturbingly quiet 

The outside world was much louder than this space inside 

How peculiar

Nature to me means quietude and peace 

But perhaps it wasn't so unusual 

After all

Nature has emotions too.