This applies to life, but also to recipes. There are times when the instructions that you're given don't make sense, and there is no way to quickly get into contact with the author of those instructions. In cases like those, I ask that you follow mindfully, not blindly.
There was a recipe that I'd seen for a certain tofu dish. It read like any other: press tofu, pat dry, add spices, add 2 tablespoon of salt, 2 tsp of pepper, and 1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes. At that moment, I put the brakes on my train of thought. It was like hearing loud, screaming claxons, warning me away from disaster. How is it possible that you have almost equal amounts of salt and heat? That seemed way excessive. I assumed that it was a typo, and scaled the red pepper flakes back to a much more reasonable 1 tsp. The dish turned out delicious at the end. It was a tiny bit on the spicy side, but still quite tasty. If I had gone with that full tablespoon of chile flakes, I shudder to think of the pain that would result from that level of heat.
Years ago, when I was visiting Quito, Ecuador on a class field trip, one of the people there knew the directions to a specific place we all wanted to go check out. For the sake of this story, we'll say it was a ... library. Yes. A library. Stop looking at me like that!
Anyway. On the way to the library, we had to cross multiple intersections. I was able to follow along, because the street signs for stop, go, and walk/don't walk are pretty universal. Unfortunately, the guy who was leading the way wasn't paying close enough attention, and wandered into traffic. My friend yanked me back before I was about to do the same. "That's the DON'T WALK sign, Dino. What are you, nuts!? Just because that idiot is walking into oncoming traffic doesn't mean that you need to be a lemming and follow him off the cliff!"
Whether it be adding entirely too much heat to a recipe, or walking into oncoming traffic, both are situations where a bit of mindfulness, and careful attention would prevent some pretty horrible disasters. It's the reason why when I make a recipe for the first time, I'll go through and read it thoroughly. I'll make sure I understand the instructions. If there's a technique that I'm not familiar with, I'll go onto a popular video posting website, and look it up. Why? Because when I'm on unfamiliar ground, I want to make sure that the path is going to be as smooth as possible. Even with all that preparation work, there are times when I'll miss a step completely, and slap myself on the forehead for being such a dunce.
Similarly, when I'm in a new city, or following directions for the first time, I'm extra careful about looking all around, making note of the road that I'm on (and the road I need to be on), checking frequently with the GPS (sorry, but printed maps confuse me, since they don't have a giant arrow pointing me to where I need to go) to ensure that I'm not going the wrong way. Even then, I still manage to get myself lost with hilarious frequency.
Think what would happen if I were to take a recipe or a new city without all those precautions!
The point is that by being careful, I'm not guaranteeing that I'll be perfect. There's no such thing. What I'm doing is stacking the odds in my favour that I will end up successful in my ventures. When I'm reading or making a recipe for the first time, I don't like distractions (TV turned on, someone chatting to me casually, my MP3 player in my ear), because I find myself losing my spot as I follow along the recipe. Similarly, when I'm trying to navigate a tricky set of directions (or even a simple one; I really am pretty hopeless at getting to the right place the first time), I pull my earphones off, and clear my brain of erroneous thoughts. In the car, I'll ask that the radio be turned down, and that any conversation not involved in getting us there in one piece be put on hold (I don't drive, so I'm frequently assigned the role of navigator).
There are memorable flubs in both cooking and life that I could tell you about, but that's for another day.
Showing posts with label musings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label musings. Show all posts
7/15/13
Don't expect things to turn out exactly.
I've said this before a bunch of times when it comes to life, but it also applies to cooking: don't expect things to be exactly the way you've wanted them to be; life has a way of throwing you a surprise from time to time, and it helps to be open to it.
A couple of months back, I went down to Virginia to visit my brother (and his wife, and their two kids). It just happened to be the same weekend that my 2nd brother was able to get his son for the week, and had flown up from Florida. Also the same week that my dad had flown up from Florida too. At that point, my mother and nephew (sister's son, for the record) had already been in Virginia for a couple of months, and were nearing the end of their stay. Because everyone else was coming down to VA, my sister made the flight out from Arizona (her husband was working, and couldn't get the time off). For that reason, I and my husband made the trip down (since everyone else was there).
My mom mentioned that she got her wish (a large family reunion; we haven't all been together under one roof in over 20 years), but not quite the way she expected it to happen. In her mind, she had just casually put out to the Universe (or G-d, or the Powers That Be, or whatever you choose to call it) that as she hit her sixtieth year on this planet, she'd like all her children to be together under one roof, over there in Arizona, where my sister has an extremely large house (for the record, my eldest brother's house is also enormous). The reason being that my mother would be in her comfort zone, while still having everyone together. My sister's house has a pool, a large back yard, and pretty much all the amenities you could hope for.
But, as life goes, things don't always turn out just so. With the majority of the family living on the East coast (me, my husband, brother, his wife, their two kids, my 2nd brother, his kid), it would have been a logistical nightmare to coordinate everyone's time off and flights to get out to Arizona. A trip down to Virginia, however, is a short bus ride for my husband and me (also, one that doesn't require much planning; the bus I take lets me book up to the night before, and still costs the same).
Somehow, what started off as a visit to her son and daughter-in-law became a massive family reunion, without her realising it. We still had a good time. We still all got to be together. I didn't have to take time off from work.
But it didn't quite end up how my mother thought it "should" be. Rather, it ended up like it was.
This applies to food. I was at the grocery store, shopping for vegetables and the rest. I was going to be cooking for a friend, and wanted to make him some of the South Indian dishes that my mother would cook when I was a kid. Lemon rice is one of those dishes that pretty much everyone loves, and is fairly simple to make. Unfortunately, the store's lemons looked awful. They were hard, and unripe, and didn't smell of citrus. Also, they were 2 for $1. Ouch! The limes, on the other hand, were plump, thin skinned, fragrant, and half the price.
If I had been one of those folks who's careful about following a recipe to the letter, I'd have ignored those beautiful limes, and opted for the bottled lemon juice. Instead, I decided to try the lemon rice recipe (which is one of those dishes that my mother gets asked to make pretty much universally) using limes instead of lemons. The flavour was divine! Who knew that you could change a fundamental component of a recipe that much, and still have it be delicious?
There have been times when I'm at a friend's house, and making hummus, and we don't have any lemon juice. I've managed to substitute the lemon with cider vinegar to excellent results. My friend who is allergic to soy was coming over for lunch. Instead of using the soy sauce that a particular recipe called for, I used a mix of chickpea miso dissolved in the broth from soaking shiitake mushrooms and kombu. It didn't taste like the original recipe, but it tasted better.
Whatever your challenge is, whether it be in life, or in cooking, face it with an open mind, and find a different solution. Or, in some cases, expect the odd turns and twists that life has sent your way, and enjoy them.
A couple of months back, I went down to Virginia to visit my brother (and his wife, and their two kids). It just happened to be the same weekend that my 2nd brother was able to get his son for the week, and had flown up from Florida. Also the same week that my dad had flown up from Florida too. At that point, my mother and nephew (sister's son, for the record) had already been in Virginia for a couple of months, and were nearing the end of their stay. Because everyone else was coming down to VA, my sister made the flight out from Arizona (her husband was working, and couldn't get the time off). For that reason, I and my husband made the trip down (since everyone else was there).
My mom mentioned that she got her wish (a large family reunion; we haven't all been together under one roof in over 20 years), but not quite the way she expected it to happen. In her mind, she had just casually put out to the Universe (or G-d, or the Powers That Be, or whatever you choose to call it) that as she hit her sixtieth year on this planet, she'd like all her children to be together under one roof, over there in Arizona, where my sister has an extremely large house (for the record, my eldest brother's house is also enormous). The reason being that my mother would be in her comfort zone, while still having everyone together. My sister's house has a pool, a large back yard, and pretty much all the amenities you could hope for.
But, as life goes, things don't always turn out just so. With the majority of the family living on the East coast (me, my husband, brother, his wife, their two kids, my 2nd brother, his kid), it would have been a logistical nightmare to coordinate everyone's time off and flights to get out to Arizona. A trip down to Virginia, however, is a short bus ride for my husband and me (also, one that doesn't require much planning; the bus I take lets me book up to the night before, and still costs the same).
Somehow, what started off as a visit to her son and daughter-in-law became a massive family reunion, without her realising it. We still had a good time. We still all got to be together. I didn't have to take time off from work.
But it didn't quite end up how my mother thought it "should" be. Rather, it ended up like it was.
This applies to food. I was at the grocery store, shopping for vegetables and the rest. I was going to be cooking for a friend, and wanted to make him some of the South Indian dishes that my mother would cook when I was a kid. Lemon rice is one of those dishes that pretty much everyone loves, and is fairly simple to make. Unfortunately, the store's lemons looked awful. They were hard, and unripe, and didn't smell of citrus. Also, they were 2 for $1. Ouch! The limes, on the other hand, were plump, thin skinned, fragrant, and half the price.
If I had been one of those folks who's careful about following a recipe to the letter, I'd have ignored those beautiful limes, and opted for the bottled lemon juice. Instead, I decided to try the lemon rice recipe (which is one of those dishes that my mother gets asked to make pretty much universally) using limes instead of lemons. The flavour was divine! Who knew that you could change a fundamental component of a recipe that much, and still have it be delicious?
There have been times when I'm at a friend's house, and making hummus, and we don't have any lemon juice. I've managed to substitute the lemon with cider vinegar to excellent results. My friend who is allergic to soy was coming over for lunch. Instead of using the soy sauce that a particular recipe called for, I used a mix of chickpea miso dissolved in the broth from soaking shiitake mushrooms and kombu. It didn't taste like the original recipe, but it tasted better.
Whatever your challenge is, whether it be in life, or in cooking, face it with an open mind, and find a different solution. Or, in some cases, expect the odd turns and twists that life has sent your way, and enjoy them.
11/16/12
Top 5 Tips for Vegan Thanksgiving Bliss
Even if you won't be joining us here at
Chow for your Thanksgiving meal, we still want you to have a delicious holiday.
Regardless of how big your crowd is, we have noticed a couple of things that
help things go smoothly. Hopefully, they will be of help to you too.
1) Do not try something new for the first
time when you have company coming. With dishes that you cook infrequently, you
have less confidence in the final product. You haven't seen how the food will
react to your situation, to your skills, and to your kitchen. Something that
worked great in my kitchen may not work so great in yours if you've never made
it before. This is why whenever I am about to try a new recipe for a big day,
I'll make a small test batch first to see how the mechanics of the recipe work.
This way, if things go belly-up, I'll not have wasted too many ingredients.
Furthermore, with my smaller batch, I can make tweaks without using up huge
amounts of ingredients.
What am I talking about? Imagine that you
have about a cup or so of a gravy. You made it because the recipe looked good.
Now imagine that you did like I said, and decided to make only about half that
amount, because you're not sure how the recipe will work. You half all the
ingredients, and measure them out ahead of time. You survey all your
ingredients in front of you, and they look to be reasonable for what you're
making. (Yesterday, Bossman came up to me and said, "I'm making a single
cheesecake. 2 TB of salt doesn't seem right, does it?" I agreed with his
assessment. It turns out that the TB was a typo. In other words, look at each
ingredient in the context of the whole recipe and ask yourself if such an
amount makes sense for what you're making.)
You go to make the recipe exactly as
stated. Midway through, you realise that the recipe never mentioned that you're
to turn down the heat. You didn't think to do so, because you're following the
damned recipe. All of a sudden, your gravy gets burned, and you're furious.
Since it is a tiny amount, you're not that bothered. You can try again, and
this time, turn down the heat a bit. Suppose that you did make the gravy, and
it turned out great. You taste it. SALT BOMB. You're gasping for water, and the
thing tastes just awful. Now imagine what would happen if this is a random
mid-week meal. You quietly bin the gravy, and decide to have that dinner with
ketchup instead. Again. (Yes, this is personal experience talking.) Imagine the
same scenario if you've got guests coming in less than 20 minutes. They won't
be as forgiving as your husband, or your dog.
Suppose you make everything as stated, but
the end result seems really bland. This frequently happens with pressure cooker
or slow cooker recipes. The extreme cooking seems to dull out the flavours.
Again, suppose you only have a small batch to fix. A few drops of lemon will
brighten any dull tasting dish. A fresh bunch of herbs will do the same.
Sometimes it'll take a combination of the two. Either way, if you're dealing
with large quantities, you may not have all the ingredients you need to fix the
mistake. In small quantities, the small amounts of ingredients you add to tweak
something will make a huge difference. All this leads to the second tenet.
2) When you change a recipe, make a note of
it. In fact, make frequent notes. Why? Because if it took a few things to tweak
a recipe that was otherwise great, you'll want to remember what it is you did
to make it work. If you make something truly great, you'll want to recreate it.
A piece of paper and a sharpie will work wonders for you.
3) Do as much preparation work ahead of
time as is feasible. Or cheat. We're all busy. We have a thousand things to get
done in an average day. And I'm sorry, but that cute kitty video isn't going to
watch itself. For whatever reason, there will be times when you have time
consuming prep work (peeling onions or garlic, chopping root veggies, chopping
potatoes, etc) that you'll put off until the last minute. Then the day of
comes, and you're about to wind up serving everyone a pizza. Don't do this.
If you go to many Supermarkets now, you'll
see pre-diced vegetables of every shape and size. I want you to go to that
store, look at what they're charging for those things, and then resolve to do
it yourself. If you're a wealthy type, who's getting paid enough at work that
your time is worth more than the cost difference of buying pre-prepped versus
whole vegetables, go ahead and buy the jars. Either way, figure out what you've
got more of, be it time or money, and reach a compromise.
If the time is what you have plenty of, go
ahead and set aside about four days before the major event to do the boring
prep. Peel and chop your onions. Peel your garlic. Dice the carrots and celery.
All these can be done up to four days in advance with no problems. Three days
ahead, go ahead and slice or chop the garlic. Dice your potatoes or other root
veggies, and leave them to sit in cold water. Soak your beans and brown rice
(brown rice cooks much more quickly when soaked ahead of time). Two days ahead
of time, drain the soaked beans, and boil them. Cook your root veggies and/or
potatoes. They take a long time to cook, so it's great if you can have them
pre-cooked. Wash and chop your dark leafy greens. Wash and chop your
cauliflower/broccoli. Drain the brown
rice, and let it sit in the fridge. On the day of, bring all the magic
together.
All these little tasks, when taken
separately, take no more than 30 - 45 minutes or so to do at the very most. Then,
on the day of, when all your ingredients are prepared, you can generally knock
out any major cooking in about 1 - 2 hours or so. This also makes it easy for
you to do your dishes as you're working.
If you have more money than time, go ahead
and buy the pre-chopped aromatics (carrots, celery, onions), the pre-peeled
garlic, the frozen chopped kale, the broccoli crowns (some stores even sell
florets all chopped neatly), or whatever other ingredient you don't feel like
prepping. Heck, Trader Joe even sells these cooked lentils in a vacuum pack.
They don't come with all that gooey liquid, so you can totally use them in
salads or purees. They cost more than dried beans, but they're still not
prohibitively expensive.
Or, if you're like most people, find a
happy medium. Do as much prep work as you're comfortable with, and then buy the
rest prepped already.
4) If you have the option, delegate as much
as you can. If you're standing there over a blazing hot stove, and a screaming
hot oven, you're likely going to need some help with the cleanup. Recruit
anyone who's willing to help to start clearing up the prep dishes as you use
them up. Recruit people who are willing, to chop herbs or keep an eye on the
pot. Recruit someone to keep your wineglass replenished. Recruit someone to
taste (and if you're making anything with kale, or anything fried, you'll have
plenty of volunteers). Treat your kitchen helpers to extra little treats.
Anyone who helps me in the kitchen always gets first dibs on the fried food.
Only after we've eaten our fill do we call anyone else in to try some.
5) Taste. Frequently. Why? Because the food
will change as it cooks. And unlike meat foods, which try to kill you back,
there isn't likely to be that much harm in tasting a piece of vegetable halfway
through its cooking process. Taste that soup liquid as it begins to cook, and
then throughout the cooking process. Not only will it alert you to problems as
they occur (such as the soup sticking to the bottom of the pot when you're
using ingredients like split peas), it will also get you used to knowing what
something should taste like at various points during the cooking. This
knowledge will help you to gauge how anything in the pot should taste.
Don't just rely on your own taste either.
Ask for feedback from others who are around while the food cooks. If you get
multiple opinions, you can tweak the food as
necessary. Or, in some cases, you can beam with pride when everyone
raves about how delicious something is, on a one-on-one basis. When someone
piles his or her plate with food, and eats it with great gusto, you don't know
what they love about each and every dish. When they have a little taste of each
thing as it's prepared, you know that they love each thing. OK, so I do enjoy a
little ego boost once in a while.
Most of all, relax. People aren't
necessarily here for your food (although it is a nice bonus). They're here to
see you. The food is secondary. I have had wonderful times with friends when
the food was nothing more than a bowl of nuts, some piping hot mugs of hot
chocolate, and some fine conversation. That fills me up just as much as a fancy
meal in a nice restaurant. If someone takes all that effort to come out and see
you, they'll be happy that you made the effort to bring something nice to the
table, even if it really is delivery or take out from a restaurant. The meal is
the excuse to share the warm feelings and good times.
We love you all, and wish you a happy and
healthy Thanksgiving!
6/4/09
reveries, 9/11 pain.
Dresden Rising.
Hates flame, destruction,
steel & skin, melt, both colossal.
Ascension into the mouth of creation,
elements reintegrating.
9/13/2001, nyc.
new York.
Oh my York of York: will you ever be new?
can you ever feel safe? Be new, be new,
do not seed hates growth, be kind,
and be new, be new, be new my new York.
9/13/2001, nyc.
cp moore
little new one.
Oh little York or Huxley or Aurelius growing in mommy's belly -
I saw you dance at 8 weeks and 4/5 days, I saw
you wiggle your fingers and toes when you were
10 weeks, you are fire in water, a magician!
Oh my little new one, we will build a house of hope.
9/13/2001, nyc.
cp moore
Collective Gasp.
On 6th Ave and Waverly, down they tumbled,
together we watched the towers of mighty, how small
we were next their grandeur one moment,
how small we are.
Humbled, together, crushed - a pancake of hatred,
not sweet.
No doubt, we are in this together,
we are, even sons with knives.
9/14/2001 @ 11:13am , 9/16/2001 @ 8:08pm, 9/17/2001@ 7:05pm, nyc.
cp moore
(i.l.u.!)
dear life, the only thing I can control is me,
human form for just a moment, I see - violence erupts instinctively;
hurricanes, earthquakes, destruction's gate, there is a simple way from
human hate.
(i love u!)
9/14/2001, @ 11:38am, nyc.
cp moore
Self.
i met him as a child and i grew into a man,
my rage rumbled outward, it developed a plan,
it was this one or that one, with shouts of g-d damn;
delicate by nature, so angry the man.
9/14/2001. @ 12:24 pm, nyc.
cp moore
Molecules.
Eternity we are, forever we’ll be,
from within and without – electrons simply.
An energy rippling into the sky,
a miracle, a wonder, a part of
g-d’s eye. Teardrops from memories,
nostalgia we knew, this burnings connected,
eternity renewed.
9/14/2001 @ 12:52pm, 9/17/2001 @7:32pm, nyc.
cp moore
A Simple Prayer.
rich, pure love, dignity;
quiet, reach inward and summon -
the power of all creation, the complex miracle of being,
and practice: human kindness.
9/14/2001 @ 1:12pm , 9/16/2001@ 6:54pm, 9/17/2001 @ 7:45pm, nyc.
cp moore
The Devil’s Cigar.
Thunderous rivers of billowing smoke,
alone with the night, my throat and I choke.
I wonder, I wonder and really I pray,
I sit and I ponder, away and away -
a child, a father, a mother, a land, wherever i go,
it’s Destiny’s plan. A decision, a way, of how not to be:
I’ll travel the road, my own history.
The Lesson before me is simple and clear,
kindness I honor, and all I revere.
9/16/2001 @9:13pm, nyc
cp moore
Sound & Sight.
To everyone, everywhere, N.Y.C.: BIG, LOUD!
It's quiet now: just church bells & sirens;
the police officers and firemen: they're not the same.
It's a small town with ghost streets,
you can hear the "open" neon signs hum.
After 10PM, at Spring and Houston, Mister Softee is serving a large crowd;
transfixed on the new amusement park.
9/17/2001 @ 9:44pm, nyc.
cp moore
Acrid Rain.
i want them to be found,
uncovered with cheer,
i see them and hear them,
3,000 clear. they’re inside a big box
of metal I’m sure, protected
and waiting, extremely secure .
a blue day so quiet with birds
in the sky, I walk like a zombie,
one death defied. i stop and i tremble with
others that pray, our teardrops fall gently
near pictures they lay.
it’s gloomy and wet, unlike yesterday,
the smoke that’s been
rising is hidden away.
a new moment i cherish, a game that i play,
i say over and over, they’re not far away.
they’re inside this big box, sealed tight and quite safe,
i know it and feel it, but then i awake.
a smell that is drifting, a seared odor from then,
it’s september 11th all over again.
September 20, 2001 @ 6:54 pm, nyc.
cp moore.
The Smoking Rubble.
On Thursday, it was cloudy,
a foggy downtown, the smoking rubble waits.
Connected.
Everyone on the street,
Everyone in Times Square, in China, in Baghdad,
Everyone everywhere.
Every motion that we make,
Every image that we see,
Every feeling that we feel for every life & every tree.
Everything that we know,
Everything that we don’t, from the stars in the sky to the plans for you & i.
Every life that will be,
Every life that will not,
Everything is connected by molecular dots.
Hates flame, destruction,
steel & skin, melt, both colossal.
Ascension into the mouth of creation,
elements reintegrating.
9/13/2001, nyc.
new York.
Oh my York of York: will you ever be new?
can you ever feel safe? Be new, be new,
do not seed hates growth, be kind,
and be new, be new, be new my new York.
9/13/2001, nyc.
cp moore
little new one.
Oh little York or Huxley or Aurelius growing in mommy's belly -
I saw you dance at 8 weeks and 4/5 days, I saw
you wiggle your fingers and toes when you were
10 weeks, you are fire in water, a magician!
Oh my little new one, we will build a house of hope.
9/13/2001, nyc.
cp moore
Collective Gasp.
On 6th Ave and Waverly, down they tumbled,
together we watched the towers of mighty, how small
we were next their grandeur one moment,
how small we are.
Humbled, together, crushed - a pancake of hatred,
not sweet.
No doubt, we are in this together,
we are, even sons with knives.
9/14/2001 @ 11:13am , 9/16/2001 @ 8:08pm, 9/17/2001@ 7:05pm, nyc.
cp moore
(i.l.u.!)
dear life, the only thing I can control is me,
human form for just a moment, I see - violence erupts instinctively;
hurricanes, earthquakes, destruction's gate, there is a simple way from
human hate.
(i love u!)
9/14/2001, @ 11:38am, nyc.
cp moore
Self.
i met him as a child and i grew into a man,
my rage rumbled outward, it developed a plan,
it was this one or that one, with shouts of g-d damn;
delicate by nature, so angry the man.
9/14/2001. @ 12:24 pm, nyc.
cp moore
Molecules.
Eternity we are, forever we’ll be,
from within and without – electrons simply.
An energy rippling into the sky,
a miracle, a wonder, a part of
g-d’s eye. Teardrops from memories,
nostalgia we knew, this burnings connected,
eternity renewed.
9/14/2001 @ 12:52pm, 9/17/2001 @7:32pm, nyc.
cp moore
A Simple Prayer.
rich, pure love, dignity;
quiet, reach inward and summon -
the power of all creation, the complex miracle of being,
and practice: human kindness.
9/14/2001 @ 1:12pm , 9/16/2001@ 6:54pm, 9/17/2001 @ 7:45pm, nyc.
cp moore
The Devil’s Cigar.
Thunderous rivers of billowing smoke,
alone with the night, my throat and I choke.
I wonder, I wonder and really I pray,
I sit and I ponder, away and away -
a child, a father, a mother, a land, wherever i go,
it’s Destiny’s plan. A decision, a way, of how not to be:
I’ll travel the road, my own history.
The Lesson before me is simple and clear,
kindness I honor, and all I revere.
9/16/2001 @9:13pm, nyc
cp moore
Sound & Sight.
To everyone, everywhere, N.Y.C.: BIG, LOUD!
It's quiet now: just church bells & sirens;
the police officers and firemen: they're not the same.
It's a small town with ghost streets,
you can hear the "open" neon signs hum.
After 10PM, at Spring and Houston, Mister Softee is serving a large crowd;
transfixed on the new amusement park.
9/17/2001 @ 9:44pm, nyc.
cp moore
Acrid Rain.
i want them to be found,
uncovered with cheer,
i see them and hear them,
3,000 clear. they’re inside a big box
of metal I’m sure, protected
and waiting, extremely secure .
a blue day so quiet with birds
in the sky, I walk like a zombie,
one death defied. i stop and i tremble with
others that pray, our teardrops fall gently
near pictures they lay.
it’s gloomy and wet, unlike yesterday,
the smoke that’s been
rising is hidden away.
a new moment i cherish, a game that i play,
i say over and over, they’re not far away.
they’re inside this big box, sealed tight and quite safe,
i know it and feel it, but then i awake.
a smell that is drifting, a seared odor from then,
it’s september 11th all over again.
September 20, 2001 @ 6:54 pm, nyc.
cp moore.
The Smoking Rubble.
On Thursday, it was cloudy,
a foggy downtown, the smoking rubble waits.
Connected.
Everyone on the street,
Everyone in Times Square, in China, in Baghdad,
Everyone everywhere.
Every motion that we make,
Every image that we see,
Every feeling that we feel for every life & every tree.
Everything that we know,
Everything that we don’t, from the stars in the sky to the plans for you & i.
Every life that will be,
Every life that will not,
Everything is connected by molecular dots.
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