Sunday, October 25, 2015

The End of Vanilla

I put the tupperware cup in front
Of her. It’s one of those small, orange cups
You can cover, so it’s good for storing bits of onions
Cut for tacos or for saving the last raisins
From the box that was taking up too much room
In the refrigerator. This time,
It has a small scoop of vanilla

Ice cream in it and my two year old daughter
Murmurs “icy” delightfully as she demolishes
The mound. The scoop is soon a sweet film
Painting the bottom of the cup,
Elusive and tasty. Sustaining

That taste is now her life’s work
As she scrapes her spoon on the orange plastic,
Lifting crescents of sweetness,
Like a sculptor shaping the lips of Epicurus
By removing the smallest slivers of marble.

Then she turns the cup upside down
To let the melted syrup drip upon her tongue,
Like dollops of Pollack’s Expressionism.
Finally, she wipes the sides of the cup
With her finger to make her minimalist
Statement about art: Even the tiniest acts

Of creativity are meant to extend experience.

No comments:

Post a Comment