Dish of Mashed Peas
by Susan Terris
(published in her 2019 book, Familiar Tense, and can also be found here on her website)
Some people are not destined for happiness,
and I may be one of them.
You see, in certain parts of the world where
I have been and now live,
at least in my dreams, happiness is only
granted to a woman
who leaves a dish of mashed peas out in
the moonlight overnight.
But superstition does not name what moon
phase or if one must
eat the peas. Instructions too vague.
Peas uneaten. Moon dark.
No happiness yet. I’d ask my nana if she
were still here,
but she was the one who gauged oven heat
with a bent elbow
and said happiness was to bake a cake
until done.
I love the humor and the sadness in this poem, and how the poet/speaker pulls us in right away. The title leads us to believe this will be a food poem, but those first two lines speak of destiny, happiness, and depression.
Line three, beginning with "You see," pulls us in even more. The conversational tone makes us feel as if we are speaking with a friend.
Then we are given the reason for the title. The speaker has heard of a cure for her state and has tried it, although she is not sure she has done the spell correctly, as the directions are vague. This is the part I see as a little bit of humor.
Then, another surprise. A dead grandmother who cannot be asked to clarify, although she baked cakes in this way--no specific directions, just knowing when a cake is done.
For those of us who do feel the need for specifics, the world can be depressing. And what we would give to be able to intuit things like "nana."
A brilliant poem that packs a lot of meaning into a short space!
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