call it survival

arqios

 

Consolation in the Kitchen

 

The knife rests,
its silver edge carrying
a small sun across the crust.

 

You wanted the impossible—
to butter your toast and eat it too,
to keep the sheen intact
while tasting its warmth.

 

Isn’t that the old wish,
to hold the thing and spend it,
to keep the flame unbroken
while leaning into its light?

 

So we practice the art of vanishing:
a bite, a swallow,
the plate left clean
yet somehow still radiant.

 

And tomorrow,
when the loaf is smaller,
we’ll laugh at the trick again—
to butter your toast and eat it too,
and call it survival.

 

 

 

 

.

 

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Comments +

Comments5

  • sorenbarrett

    Cryptic this speaks to the very nature of life that requires consuming and yet wanting to maintain. Time itself is consumed, yet we wish it back in our nostalgia and memories. When I eat toast the plate is never left clean there are always a few crumbs left behind and it will need to be washed. A lovely poem my friend

    • arqios

      Thanks, Soren 🙏🏻🕊️it’s a very relatable metaphor ✍️

      • sorenbarrett

        Most welcome my friend

      • orchidee

        Can we have our toast and eat it too? It seems we can't have cake and eat it too! lol.

        • arqios

          Yay! Therein lies the heart of the poem 🍰🍞🥪

          • orchidee

            But we want to have it and eat it too! lol.

          • Friendship

            Well done, your poem was delightful, and I must say, it's quite humorous. This morning, I made toast, which, unfortunately, turned out to be burnt. Despite initial doubts, I decided to butter it and took a carefree approach, thinking what the hell, and went ahead and ate it. Although the taste was absolutely horrible, reading your poem brought back memories of my breakfast.

            • arqios

              In that light, I usually scrape the burnt layer off and the proceed to butter the salvaged toast 🙏🏻🕊️

            • Tristan Robert Lange

              My friend, this piece is soft but piercing…the “small sun” on the knife, that impossible wish to keep what we consume, the quiet laugh at the end. It’s survival written as a tiny daily liturgy…and it works beautifully. Loved this lots! 🌹🖤🙏🕯️🐦‍⬛

              • arqios

                Thanks Tittu. Sometimes all we need is an adequately stocked pantry and fridge. A go to when things aren’t working out as well as could be hoped 🙏🏻🕊️

                • Tristan Robert Lange

                  Indeed! For sure! Most welcome, my friend.

                • Goldfinch60

                  May your toast be buttered every day Rik.

                  Andy



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