Friday, 17 August 2012

  • "Ode To Salt" by Pablo Neruda



    This salt
    in the salt cellar
    I once saw in the salt mines.
    I know
    you won't
    believe me
    but
    it sings
    salt sings, the skin
    of the salt mines
    sings
    with a mouth smothered
    by the earth. 

    I shivered in those
    solitudes
    when I heard
    the voice
    of
    the salt 
    in the desert.
    Near Antofagasta
    the nitrous
    pampa
    resounds:
    a
    broken
    v oice,
    a mournful
    song.

    In its caves
    the salt moans, mountain
    of buried light,
    translucent cathedral,
    crystal of the sea, oblivion
    of the waves.
    And then on every table
    in the world,
    salt,
    we see your piquant
    powder
    sprinkling
    vital light
    upon
    our food. 
    Preserver
    of the ancient
    holds of ships,
    discoverer
    on
    the high seas,
    earliest
    sailor
    of the unknown, shifting
    byways of the foam.
    Dust of the sea, in you
    the tongue receives a kiss
    from ocean night:
    taste imparts to every seasoned
    dish your ocean essence;
    the smallest,
    miniature
    wave from the saltcellar
    reveals to us
    more than domestic whiteness;
    in it, we taste finitude.


    What food makes you want to sing its praises? Have you ever written an ode to food?

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  • RachelR
    • From: RachelR
    • Name: RachelR
    • Location: Portland, Oregon, United States
    • About Me: I used to be terrible at eating. A bowl of cereal here, a bag of chips there... It just wasn't on my priority list. Until I got diagnosed with Celiac disease in May 2012. Now I'm having fun with food and learning what nutrients my body needs to thrive! Come dine with me!
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