I had completed my Pink Saturday memory, complete with photos to illustrate the adventure. All of a sudden - either Comcast - or BlogSpot - or my iMac - hiccuped and everything went away into the ether that is the internet. I'm sure somewhere out there it's floating around, waiting to be read, but I'll be darned if I can find it! However, at just the right moment, Jon said he had finished a poem he was working on this morning. So, though it's not pink - and it's not about Christmas - it is about a childhood memory. I hope you enjoy it ... and then visit all the others (who, no doubt, have posted proper Pink Saturday posts!) at Beverly's Pink Saturday!
Liver
In olden times
American mothers powdered and rouged their warts
and with their red-red lipstick smiles
they pretended there was no secret cauldron of nightmares
as neon as the full moon
and served something for dinner called liver.
It stared up from the plate
like an island that never heard of ice cream,
so brown as mud it was green,
like a Martian that can’t help itself.
It tasted like hatred giving off a bad smell.
It was the Anti-Heart of mothers
no one talks about,
as if dinner itself was a sneer.
The world is not kind, the liver seemed to shout.
People will despise you, and this is what bullies
will taste like in your mouth.
At least eat half, at least swallow one bite,
the mothers would screech, harpies wearing curlers
self-satisfied that all love in the universe had been electrocuted.
But even the smallest child was no dummy.
Like POWs, we all knew
that if we gave in on this, there would be nothing left at all.
We would turn into granite. We would turn into the plastic dolls
our mothers wanted us to be all along.
Why do we have to have liver? we would ask, and the answer was
Because.
Today, children eat pepperoni pizza all the way to Venus.
Angels of love sprinkle them with money.
They have never even heard of liver.
But in olden times
children were sent to bed
to drown in the shadows, no TV, no Eskimo Pies,
no anything.
Scraping the uneaten slab of liver into the garbage heap
of dead coffee grinds and broken eggs,
the mothers would consider all the children
still starving in Europe,
and be strangely pleased.
Copyright 2009 by Jon P. Bloch
Whether today you are shopping or cleaning or baking or playing with the kids or watching great old movies or decorating for Christmas, remember to take time to make something beautiful!
♥´¨)
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*´¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•´♥ Tristan ♥
20 comments:
Oh Tristan...I love it!! Yes, my mother used to serve it up with grilled onions...AWFUL STUFF!!! We had to sit there and eat it till most of it was gone, so I discovered catsup was my only ally to prevent me from that taste of "hatred" (love it). I must have used 1/2 a bottle on that little slab of meat.
Later on, it came out that animal innards were high in cholesterol, so that put an end to that nasty stuff. My parents loved to eat brains, however...OMG!! Fortunately, they didn't waste those little grayish, pinkish morsels on us, PRAISE GOD!!!! LOL
Today I'm planning on going into the studio and finish and begin Christmas gifts...have much to do. Later on, going to watch, "The Name of the Rose." Loved the book and saw the movie once. I got it at Big Lots for $3.00, so I just had to buy it, so while my honey and youngest watch college football today, I'll be busy in my happy place and then later, sit and relax with a glass of Pinot Grigio and enjoy my $3.00 movie!!
Have a great one and please tell Jon I loved his poem...what memories!!!
xxoo,
Georgina
I loved Jon's poem, but had to laugh a bit becuase my Mom could really cook liver that was tasty! Yes, I hear you groaning, but liver and onions was a staple in our household, as were beef heart and tongue.
Those were cuts that were inexpensive and provided protein when otherwise, we might not have had any meat.
I recall, after being married, trying to cook liver and the taste was totally different. I think the hormones and garbage fed to animals now has a lot to do with it. And the liver filters everything......
I still love a good chicken or duck liver pate, browned quickly with shallots and butter and deglazed with a generous gurgle of brandy! (don't inhale the steam! LOL!!)
Another era....he caught the feel perfectly!
XXOO to you both!!!
Anne
He knew my mother!!!!
The other thing was SPAM! What is spam?
Did they name computer spam after the old spam because it was awful???
The starving children, yes. Somehow I was doing them a favor by eating all my dinner! Wouldn't it have been easier and nicer to SHARE MY DINNER?
FYI, liver is bad for your health!!!!
Now, I am going to run some errands and stop off a Whole Foods and get an organic blueberry muffin the size of a tennis ball!!
Have a beautiful day and thanks for the smile(again)!
Your Santa Claus in Kitsh-performance is so....... (what can I say) me like like like!
Peace & Love
Agneta, the Swedish one
what a great poem, thankfully my mother hated liver, so I never had to eat it YAY. I thought of you today when I put on my very long Pink Wig and Mermaid Dress and rode in the Christmas Parade, everyone loves Pink hair, or is it just Pink? LOL
Karey
OMG.... I remember being little & when my Mother said it was "liver night" I thought I would surely die!! I would quite literally sit at the table & physically gag at the smell. My Dad loved it...yuck!!
As I got older I found I liked it but now I don't eat it cause' it is an organ meat & very high in chloesterol!!
Don't you wonder how hungry a person had to be to eat the first liver????
Nice to hear from Jon!! Don't be a stranger!!
Happy Holidays!
Love,
Marilyn
Yep I remember Liver with onions and Heinz 57 sauce LOTS of Heinz 57 sauce!!! I hated liver night.. My dad on the other hand loved any of the "organ" meats...
I'm not shopping or cleaning, baking or playing with children ~ no old movies tonight...
But what did you think of Nip and Tuck?? She came backkkkk.....and Matt OMG!
Pattee
I have to admit, I giggled, I groaned, I giggled again. Jon has a seriously wonderful sense of humor, and yes, on a more serious note, the children of today are little spoiled tufts of cherubim love ;O) I was one of those too. No liver for me ;)
Luckily, my Mom was forced to eat liver as a kid, when she would prefer pie, so she loved to fill our plump young bodies with cake and pie and such, rather than liver ;)
Here is my only liver story.
When I was a rotten 5 year old (note, the only thing that has changed is my age), I asked my Mom what was for dinner on some random weekday night, and she said "soup."
I remember I was so hungry, I couldn't believe we were having soup. I wanted something more, something bettah ;)
So, I said I was going to the "front door neighbor's house" for dinner. My Mom chuckled and off I went. I had never had dinner there before, there was no open invitation policy, but I was going there anyway. I was Certain they would offer me a seat.
I arrived to an open seat at a little plastic picnic table next to the adult table. I was happily welcomed. I sat, had a delicious appetizer of Kraft macaroni and cheese, and knew I had made a great decision, going there for dinner. After I ate my mac and cheese, I waited for the so called main course.
I was served what looked to be like a piece of meat, slathered in a thick cream sauce, inside of a tortilla.
It turned out to be a piece of rare liver sandwiched between 8 tablespoons of mayonnaise and a tortilla. And blood was puddling into the mayo in the most gorgeously appetizing manner (not).
I excuzed myself, and bolted out the door.
The neighbor called my Mom and said, "your daughter just left here, without a word. I want to make sure she is okay..."
My Mom asked her what was for dinner, and when the woman said liver, my Mom let out a chuckle that I can still hear to this day. As I slammed the front screen door, and hollered "I'm back for dinner," my Mom was howling with a pleased hearty laugh as she hung up the phone.
She won.
I ate soup that night.
I never complained about soup again.
:))))
Happy Happy Mister Fabuloso! Thanks for the memory jogging ;) (and thank Jon too)
Please tell Jon that was awesome! More like incredible!
That was excellent....Jon is very, very talented and most definitely insightful!! I REMEMBER THE LIVER AND the curlers in her hair AND the answer to all childhood questions: BECAUSE! Bravo Jon and Tristan dearest, I hope your pink memories come back soon!!! Bisous, Anita
I remember liver and onions, so I greatly appreciate the poem. Have a wonderful day.
OMG Tristan .... that poem is hysterical !!! When I was a kid I'd run and hide under the bed if I smelled liver (and onions) cooking ..... UGH !!!
P.S. thanks for visiting my blog ! I was walking around JT Old Time Christmas today and took pictures and hopefully I will be posting them on my blog in the next few days .... so come back again for a blog visit !
Hello Kiddo,
Ahhhh such childhood memories!!! I'm not an innerds videls kinda girl and here I live right smack dab in the middle of Menudo country!!!! EEEEUUUUUUU
Thank you Jon for alittle slice of the olden days!! :)
Pattie ;)
Mazatlan Mx.
Thanks buddy, now I'm craving pepperoni pizza and worrying about warts.
Merry Christmas Tristan !!!
Tell Jon,I love his poem. It does bring back the horrid liver days.And he is so right...I do belive Mothers use it as a punishment with such glee.
I think everyone of us has been having troubles with blogspot.I know I have. I'm so sorry your about yours.
Tristand please stop by my blog.I gave a thank you to Gabriella for featuring us on her Fete...Also i would like you to see my Christmas Village. I know you would enjoy it...Trust me...LOL
I do hope you enjoy your holidays, be safe and like.
XXOO Marie Antionette
This poem is so wonderfully funny. I love it. Some cuts of liver can be quite tasty but many times it is just awful and chewy. We used to have it with boiled green bananas in Jamaica. I must admit I haven't had it in ages though and have never cooked it.
OMG, Tristan. This has made my day. Tell Jon I think he must be related to Ralphie in Christmas Story.
Happy Pink Saturday. But, darn. I wanted to read your memory.
Hello again Tristand,
I wanted to answer your questions real quick...
My front porch is 40 ft long and 8 ft wide...Half of my porch is classed in...My village goes about 18 ft down, then 8ft across, then back up about 16ft. I started my village about 1985.I do not keep to one brand. What ever fits works.I add new pieces every yr. It takes me about three days to set up if I don't have interruptions(hubby)...LOL.All the wiring is under the table.The snow covers what is on the top.I do have it down to a science now.Less wiring for more buildings.If you need to know anything more just let me know...be glad to help.For storage...I do not keep the oringal boxes.I'm not a collector...I get sturdy Chicken boxes. That way I can store seval in one box and stack them.
Thanks for stopping by.I just knew you would enjoy the village.You have a good eye for taste and color.
I love the pink Santas below.My fav is the all pink Santa with the bear and present.
Talk to you later.XXOO Marie Antionette
Love Jon's poem. Why a mother would torment her children with food is beyond me. My mom never served liver (thank goodness) nor did she make us eat anything we didn't like. My hubs mom however, would serve sauerkraut on Halloween and tell him and his sister they could not go trick-or-treating until they ate it! Sometimes they never got out the door. She was a really lovely woman otherwise. Yikes!
Hi Tristan,
I love Jon's poem. I was a weird kid, I loved liver and when I was pregnant with my girls, I craved it. No one would go out to dinner with me, because I drank a glass of milk with it no less! There were other horrid things I was asked to eat, like lima beans, yuk!
Have a Merry Tuesday,
Karen
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