Sunday, May 2, 2010

[Poem#16] Bitter-Sweet

The tip of your tongue gathers
the sweetness, eager to taste

things with smiles, images of party
cupcakes and sunshine watermelon.

The back of your tongue welcomes
the bitterness: warmth of coffee,

roundness of olives. Opposite each other,
divided by the sour buds, they stand

at attention, not letting any taste go
unnoticed. When the sweetness overpowers,

the bitterness follows quickly. And when
the bitterness threatens to overwhelm,

the sweetness tries to cover that pain.
They work together - the bitter, the sweet -

that careful balance, and so you must depend
on both to keep life from getting too heavy.

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