Ode to Chocolate

by Susan Gabriel on April 27, 2010

The poem of the week is Ode to Chocolate by Barbara Crooker.

chocolates2I hate milk chocolate, don’t want clouds
of cream diluting the dark night sky,
don’t want pralines or raisins, rubble
in this smooth plateau. I like my coffee
black, my beer from Germany, wine
from Burgundy, the darker, the better.
I like my heroes complicated and brooding,
James Dean in oiled leather, leaning
on a motorcycle. You know the color.

Oh, chocolate! From the spice bazaars
of Africa, hulled in mills, beaten,
pressed in bars. The cold slab of a cave’s
interior, when all the stars
have gone to sleep.

Chocolate strolls up to the microphone
and plays jazz at midnight, the low slow
notes of a bass clarinet. Chocolate saunters
down the runway, slouches in quaint
boutiques; its style is je ne sais quoi.
Chocolate stays up late and gambles,
likes roulette. Always bets
on the noir.

“Ode to Chocolate” by Barbara Crooker, from More. © C&R Press, 2010. 

chocolatesAre you a chocolate lover? What is your favorite kind? Dark, light, nutty, nougat?

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P.S.This poem was featured on Writer’s Almanac. If you don’t subscribe already, you might want to. Great stuff!

{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }

John Grabowski April 28, 2010 at 3:06 pm

Or, as that other great poet Homer Simpson merely says, “Mmmmmmmm….Chooooock-laaaaate!”

Anne Alexander April 28, 2010 at 3:12 pm

Give me that dark stuff!!

Susan Gabriel April 28, 2010 at 3:27 pm

Anything with almonds is my vice!

Susan Gabriel April 28, 2010 at 3:30 pm

Friends on facebook are weighing in:

K.K.: “Chocolate strolls up to the microphone
and plays jazz at midnight” How perfect is that?

K. Alexander: Mmm makes me hungry…

D. Shea: I still stand by Fran’s Chocolates (Seattle) as best ever.

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