Vanilla
Vanilla
by Bill Louma
The beautiful bird talk is certainly a form
of your tastebuds and fleshy lips. Verily
your delicates flavor a teaspoonful in combination.
The fan shape adds an extra boost. Coloring
also enters into it. At this point I am unfocused
by all the melting. Your ice cream face
and numerous aerial hairs make my heart
beat against the spikes of lucky stars.
This to me is pure vanilla extract.
Short and sweet (pun intended) lol. I can read this poem from two different perspectives–one as an address to vanilla personified–the other as a lover likened to vanilla. That’s a part of what draws me to this piece and excites my interest. I thought the short lines and frequent abruptfully descriptive sentences made for a very consumable form.
At first, I thought perhaps that birds (mentioned in line 1 to start off the poem) had some significant role in vanilla pollination or history or in the name ‘vanilla’ itself but after some research I found that bees are the primary pollinator and figured ‘beautiful bird talk’ was a description reflecting the poet’s personal perception or metaphorically an observation in which vanilla and the poet’s lover held in common.
Line 2, if the poem is to be read dually comparing flower and lover, is extremely erotic if we consider the word ‘delicates’ of the vanilla juxtaposed with the lover’s organ of femininity even going to the point of likening taste and smell.
And i thought the last 2 lines of the poem finished nicely:
“Your ice cream face
and numerous aerial hairs make my heart
beat against the spikes of lucky stars.
This to me is pure vanilla extract.”
Well done!
“Your ice cream face” got me too. It’s sweet, but not saccharine.