today, I choose chard
for bitter earthiness,
sorrel, amaranth,
& dandelion
offerings for dinner
I would have foraged
if we lived in caves
but, because we do not
my 2 children
will push their plates away
reach for safer choices
of peas & beans,
white rice;
the tastelessness
of what is expected
***Late spring/early summer in New York is traumatic for my kids, as I grow (or find) every dark, leafy green (and some purple) imaginable here, and then expect them to at least taste them in salads. Every year I torment them with kale, collards, orach (aka amaranth), as well as the more easily recognizable spinach and chard.
Susan Daniels Poetry 
eating healthy!
Just me….And sometimes Zoe–the little one won’t touch it 🙂
makes sense as to the food selections. i can see it from a literary sense in that if we don’t read the good stuff, then we become like zombies. what i eat and what i read are two different scenarios…*L* always looking to see what might be in a piece. pretty cool piece.
🙂 thanks
Ah Ha! Where did our children learn to FEAR green food???? Hmmmm, not from me and certainly not from you. What is it do you suppose? This ‘natural’ fear of the unknown green.
yes–anything healthy is poison to be avoided!
Love spinach, love shard, love kale, but put artichoke hears in front of me, and… stand back, me consuming them = the foraging equivalent of rapid oxidation.
you too?
I so identified with this. We went for a picnic yesterday and stopped at Whole Foods to pick up food to eat. My wife and I chose healthy foods, while our two boys did not. Well said!
Richard
thanks Richard! Those kids don’t know what they are missing….
You know, there is hope for their tastebuds. When I was young I used to hate eating certain greens (no I’m working on becoming a full veggie). I learned to love greens.
This is a bit disgusting (perhaps) but I must confess it. My folks made me eat broccoli and rather than swallow it, I’d “store it” in the side of my mouth for hours. Who knows why. . . but it made sense to me then.
Autonomy–only way you could say no.
True. But by saying “No” I ended up saying “Yes.”
true, too. What we put our children through.
I remember as a child, my mother scolding me about refusing to eat something; telling me that I should be ashamed, that there were starving children around the world that would be grateful for my (Brussels sprouts or eggplant, can’t remember which), and that would usually get me to eat them. I tried that line on my daughter, and she told me to send it to them.
She definitely has a point.