the weight of a soul is less
than a serving of potato chips,
our salt counted out
and savored too quickly
not so much a taste
as a remembered one
that handful
leaving us wanting more,
asking
is that all we get?
Susan Daniels Poetry
Poetry from rural Western New York
Very clever write! Love “Is that it”…I’m going to know it to the ounce if it kills me and leaves bodies at the road side. Finally getting the lesson that we’re here to live this life…to show our soul all the beauty, all the pain, all the love…yeah…I LOVED this Susan!
Tash, you are AWESOME! So glad you liked it. I was thinking about reading that the human soul allegedly weighs 21 grams, and that thought entered my mind when I was reading the serving size for a bag of potato chips, which is 28 grams.
oh dang…true…and like it much…a taste remembered, just a handful of salt…wanting more….yep that sounds like life just a bit…smiles…
Thanks, Brian. Popped into my head while reading a nutrition label. Glad it made you grin.
you mix the senses and feelings here beautifully – taste, weight, quantity, and weave them so wonderfully with memory and hints of longings for more!
Thanks, N! I have never gained inspiration from a nutrition label before. Glad you liked.
I thought this was a wonderful write–so clear in its metaphor–and yes, I guess I would want more
I guess It’s kind of a plea for reincarnation–no one can stop at just one
Glad you liked!
It is in that which shows least apparent holds the greater mysteries, the ones filled with wonder, those most endure.
So simply put. Lovely.
Cheers!
Jeff, thanks so much for commenting, and so deeply. nice to meet you.
How original to think of a soul as and organ or main course.
To me it seems more of a sauce or flavouring.
Only now that I start thinking on it
I like the salt and potato chips comparisons. Short and to the point.
Thanks, Holly. One of those things–another blogger mentioned the soul weight (extremely questionable) research yesterday, and it flashed in my mind when I was reading a nutrition label.
I never thought of a soul as having weight or matter, though it certainly does matter. Savoring a soul intentionally rather than mindlessly like I sometimes eat a serving (or 2 or 3 or . . .) of potato chips would be good and perhaps not leave us with an “is that all we get?” feeling. Peace, Linda
Linda, so true. I can mindlessly eat a ton of chips–would hate to do that with my time.
I like this a lot, and I will certainly eat my potato chips in awe from now on.
I specially like the opening lines and stanza Susan ~ Food for thought ~
I think of you often. Some quirky situation and I’ll say to my (thankfully understanding) husband “There’s poem in that.” A nutrition label and the soul? Hmm. I laughed at this one.
I am thinking there is a poem in everything.
True.
oh my, yes! how much of our life is lived in backward reflection. well said.
Thank you! You totally got this. Nice to meet you!
There is a poignancy to this, Susan.
Celestine, thank you. Just a tiny hint, and you, sharp as a pin, found it
So many ways to ride with this one…
Yes. Amazing where a comment by a blogger–a quote, actually–and a nutrition label will take you.
The weight of a soul is something I haven’t contemplated….but it is good to know it would weigh less than a serving of potato chips. I do hope, however, that my soul will have memory and will be remembered. A thought-provoking write! (I too spend a lot of time reading nutrition labels!)
Mary, glad you enjoyed! I never viewed a soul as a material thing having weight, but I had fun exploring this after I read that it was theorized that the human soul weighs 21 grams.
wow! profound!! so very true..wantign more and more…
Thank you so much!
I like the ‘reductio ad absurdum’ of the comparison. What a refreshing change to have that overworked word placed in a humorous context!
Thanks, Dick. Perhaps we should take souls a little less seriously more often.
this is a great analogy/metaphor here. Very creative Susan, really like this a lot.
Fred, thank you. I had fun with this one!
Creative use of food-labelling – and in a positive way for a change
Of course, a soul can’t be measured in pounds and ounces, or in pounds and pence/dollars and cents.
Thanks, Tony. Nope, we can’t measure the immaterial by material things. It was fun in this instance to try, though!
Lovely use of the mundane to give a texture to the ethereal. Very pleasing and useful image! Nice work.
Steve, thank you! I love catching the ethereal in the net of the mundane.
Many examples this week of “life” found in the everyday things around us.Inspiration is such a mysterious and elusive thing. This is a wonderful piece and so thought provoking.
Thank you, Andrea.
Wow. I will probably be thinking about this all day, searching for my savory soul somewhere.
It’s size that matters, not weight…
Exactly!
I’ll bet a soul is salty too! I love the oral-ity of this comparison–our taste buds during snacks and the fleeting aftertaste of the soul. Spare and clear, only vaguely touching cannibalism, this poem shall haunt me, I am a salt person; popcorn with soy sauce is my daily dose–not quite but almost–as frequent as prayer.
Oh, Susan, what a beautiful comment (my snack of choice is popcorn with lime and salt). Snacks, like prayer, sustain us.
Oh, Susan- this is amazing! We always do want more, don’t we?
Yes, always. Part of the human condition, I think.
you had me at that first comparison.
the saltiest poem i’ve heard about the soul.
A thinking woman’s poem, souls & chips…
thanks, Lindy!