Anthony Wilson
Basil and Chopped Tomatoes
Too many (poems) seemed to be about cutting up basil and tomatoes while Mozart played. Liz Lochhead, Observer, 13.3.94
There are too many poems
with basil and chopped tomatoes
in them. This will not be
one of them. Nor will Mozart
play in the background, nor soft
breezes delicately waft through
the kitchen. Probably it will
be Desert Island Discs
and chicken casserole while you read
the Sunday papers. We do not
have a cat so the cat will not
appear, hungrily. The baby -
is the baby allowed to be present?
If so, it will be its first week
of sitting up on its own in
the playpen. If not, it will be crying.
The poem is almost completed
but one feels it lacks imagery.
Ever dropped a tin of tomatoes
onto a hot pan of garlic
and chillies in extra virgin oil?
You don’t need a poet to help you.
If you get the timing just right
it sounds like a round of applause.
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