"Looks Easy" by Lauren McBride, Poet of the Week

Editor's Note:  Toward the end of every year, Songs of Eretz must bid farewell to Frequent Contributors who have decided to move on to other projects.  We recently had send-offs for Sierra July, Yoni Hammer-Kossoy, and Mary Soon Lee.  However, it is with great sadness that this year we must also say goodbye to one more--Lauren McBride, a charter member of the Frequent Contributor group who has been with us since January 1, 2016.

The mysterious Lauren (no one knows what she looks like) was to me the heart and soul of Songs of Eretz, the embodiment of our mission to bring more and more good poetry into the world.  She will always remain in my mind as the Queen of Short Form Poetry.  I learned so much from her as I am sure did we all. 

It is difficult to imagine a Songs of Eretz without Lauren, but I have imagined it, and it will be good, just not the same.  She will be dearly, dearly missed.   

As a final tribute to this fine poet and friend, Songs of Eretz will feature Lauren as Poet of the Week for the week of December 10, 2018.  We invite you to enjoy one of Lauren’s poems every weekday this week, beginning today with "Looks Easy".

Looks Easy

Lauren McBride

On television

gourmet meals,

thirty minutes -

kitchen spotless.

My kitchen:

dirty pots, 

pans, bowls,

countertop, floor.

Burned fingers.

Burned roast.

Hungry family

still waiting.

Poet’s Notes: I should know better by now than to try to cook something that seems to generate spontaneously on televised cooking shows. Even if I pre-measure all my ingredients, my meals always take longer to prepare than the "snap your fingers" magic of TV timing. Plus my kitchen never self-cleans. However, with the holidays coming up, I thought a poem about cooking would be fun.

Editor’s Note:  This one certainly has universal appeal!  I especially enjoy the way Lauren’s choice of short lines mirrors the short temper of the short order cook.