Of Books and Blooms

not-quite Journaling, 62

My autumns are wild
magic, uncanny prose
and storms,
storms of dark poetry.

11/21/2023: Chilly fall(ing) months are for delighting in hot coffee and creepy bits by some of my favorite word weavers--Edgar Allan Poe, Shirley Jackson, Stephen King, Poppy Z. Brite… And I just picked up “Monstrosity”, a short story collection by Laura Diaz de Arce. I was seduced by the cover… 😏📚

 

11/28/2023: One of my radiation therapists traveled to the Dominican Republic (the island of my birth) and brought me back an avocado the size of my head. Fine, I might be exaggerating--I have an enormous skull--still, the thing was huge. I planted the seed. And I’ve been harvesting (and eating) the leaves--which happen to be yummy (and grow as ginormous as the seed that sprouted them).  Click HERE for photos of the growing process.

 

12/1/2023: If the sight of my cactus’s growing erections didn’t make you chuckle or giggle a bit, then your sense of humor is a lot more grownup than mine--which doesn’t say much, so stop gloating--my sense of humor has been stuck at the hormonal teenage phase for a few decades.

 

When the universe told my kabocha squash soup that she could be whatever she wanted, she bloomed nuttily. 🤭

 Poets and Storytellers United--Friday Writings #106: Seasonal Readings.

Kabocha Squash Soup with Pecans

When the odd summer breeze kisses
my skin with susurrations of chill,
I slow cook the sun (for warmth).

I cube kabocha squash
and boil it in bone broth
(for 13 minutes).

While the broth does its thing,
I slow roast some
pestled and mortared pecans.

I blend the softened sun,
pour the liquid gold
into a bowl,

and sprinkle the yum
with still hot toasty nuttiness
(for crunch).

 

photo by henry perks, on Unsplash

 - for Poets and Storytellers United--Weekly Scribblings #83: Pay Attention, where we’re asked “to choose one object in nature, examine it closely, letting it inspire in [us] a sense of wonder”. I chose the kabocha squash in my fridge and wandered into soup. Also linked to the Writers’ Pantry #84: Let’s Read Up a Storm.