Bistro Bijou

[UnderYourSpell]

Darlin, when begging for attention, proper form is to be on one's knees.



*kiss*

Some very strange things can come about in that position but I have never had to beg for it in my life !

Okay friends, here's what's on the menu today. I've spent most of the day making turkey sausage with fennel, and ricotta and basil tortellini. I thought I'd fry up some sausages, slice them up and braise them with onions, peppers, basil and tomatoes, then serve them over the tortellini, with some fresh sautee'd first spring baby spinach and garlic, and a nice imported Chianti. BJ, you've got the Chianti, so pour up, and let's see who's coming to dinner.
Chefzilla

Can you leave out the fennel for me please? When I used to make bread many years ago it was the back breaking way now a machine does it for me ... still good organic ingredients but less exercise and thats on a knead to know basis ... I know groannnn

 

[Angeline]

Okay friends, here's what's on the menu today. I've spent most of the day making turkey sausage with fennel, and ricotta and basil tortellini. I thought I'd fry up some sausages, slice them up and braise them with onions, peppers, basil and tomatoes, then serve them over the tortellini, with some fresh sautee'd first spring baby spinach and garlic, and a nice imported Chianti. BJ, you've got the Chianti, so pour up, and let's see who's coming to dinner.
Chefzilla

We can have some of my bread, too. And I've got fresh pumpkin ice cream for dessert. Gotta love those cyber calories!

Foodie questions are pretty on-topic here, I'd say.

I suppose you're right, my dear. Sex, food and rock and roll (or, in my case, jazz).

 

[UnderYourSpell]

I have a chicken carcase on low simmer with lots of herbs (I love the way you pronounce oregano by the way) tomorrow I will add lots of winter veg and do some dumplings! Then for dessert I think a low fat cheese cake made with fromage frais but haven't decided what flavour yet and on top of doing that I have to write a 30 question quiz for tomorrow night! phewwwww

 

[Angeline]

You tie me up in your words
not even giving me the satisfaction of the rope burns
You beat down my spirit
with out leaving a single mark
You rape my dreams
with out even touching me

I escape you in my mind
but from your words I can not hide

Every pleasure seems to have been stripped away
the memories of such fading fast
and with out them I do not know
how long I shall last

The warmth has been pulled out of the day
The taste gone from the wine
The jokes lost
The ambitions a far way gone

I search and I search
and the novelty of life is a stop gap
That keeps me here for one more day
I am worn thin,
who I am is stretching over too much time

The fire is fading from my eyes
but its not really that much of a surprise
I scramble to replace my significance
yet as the days tick by it melts away
What was it again?
I knew it only yesterday

Who was I again?
The fake stripped away to discover the good
The good stripped away to discover the evil
The evil stripped away to discover the strength
The strength stripped away to discover a vulnerability
that I can not hide from those passerbys

The moment I wait for is not what it used to be
what ever happened to you and me

You that used to wrap me in love
You that used to fill me with hope
You that used to count on my dreams
You have changed and so have I
Can we survive until a day when I can know you again?
Do I have the patience?
Do you have the will?
What will become of this?
Only time can tell






I ask for a critique or two, this is very unfinshedand I would like some imput

Rough topic, but very good poem. You have some wonderful images; I especially like these two strophes:

The warmth has been pulled out of the day
The taste gone from the wine
The jokes lost
The ambitions a far way gone

I search and I search
and the novelty of life is a stop gap
That keeps me here for one more day
I am worn thin,
who I am is stretching over too much time

I see you said it's very first draft, so you know it needs editing. I'd start by going through and cutting out every excess word you can find. Words like "the" and "and," for example, have no real poetic value--they add words without helping the poetry value of the writing and, very often, make the stronger words and phrases get lost in all the verbiage. I think also that you're repeating "You" for impact, but I don't think it's giving the poem the kind of punch you may want it to have. I'd consider taking as many of those out as you can. The other thing you might want to think about is the rhyme. The only strophe where you have rhyme is this one:


The fire is fading from my eyes
but its not really that much of a surprise
I scramble to replace my significance
yet as the days tick by it melts away
What was it again?
I knew it only yesterday

and it's jarring to me because it stands out in comparison to the rest of the poem as if you have one strophe that doesn't fit. You could move the rhyme around so it's more internal and therefore more subtle or you can replace the rhyming words.

Of course these are just my opinions, and they may not be what you think is best. If they help though, I'm glad to offer the feedback. If you want to post it again after the first round of edits, I'd be happy to look at it again. This thread is fine or, if you like, check out the Poetry in Progress thread. You can post poems there specifically for feedback. Whatever you are most comfortable with dear loststar.

 

[unpredictablebijou]

We can have some of my bread, too. And I've got fresh pumpkin ice cream for dessert. Gotta love those cyber calories!



I suppose you're right, my dear. Sex, food and rock and roll (or, in my case, jazz).

indeed *nodding* the Bistro is all about food, on every level. Eat and/or be eaten.

Whaddya think: are poets in general more aesthetically driven? Do they pay more attention to things like food, music and other sensory experiences than an average segment of the population?

Annie Bella, just pay no mind to that Homburg. He's just all COCKY lately. (*baiting him and then running off to bother Chefzilla in the kitchen*)

bj

 

[unpredictablebijou]

A teency bit moody tonight.



Y'all have a lovely evening.

xo
bj

 

[Anschul]

We can have some of my bread, too. And I've got fresh pumpkin ice cream for dessert. Gotta love those cyber calories!



I suppose you're right, my dear. Sex, food and rock and roll (or, in my case, jazz).

Hey, Sex, food, and music...and occasional poety? That's why I'm here!

Loststar, my sweet, now that I'm done in the back, can I sit with you in the corner and share a slow brandy and a smile? Quietly? I've been down that road, and I know how much it sucks. Maybe it'll help just to have someone sit next to you, sip something warm, and say nothing.
I volunteer.
xoxoxo
Chef(zilla, but not right now)

 

[Homburg]

I suppose you're right, my dear. Sex, food and rock and roll (or, in my case, jazz).

It is a bistro, after all.

----

indeed *nodding* the Bistro is all about food, on every level. Eat and/or be eaten.

Whaddya think: are poets in general more aesthetically driven? Do they pay more attention to things like food, music and other sensory experiences than an average segment of the population?

Annie Bella, just pay no mind to that Homburg. He's just all COCKY lately. (*baiting him and then running off to bother Chefzilla in the kitchen*)

bj

Poetry is the distillation of experience and sensation down to it's headiest elements. It is to prose as scotch is to beer. Poets are the brewers of this draught. This is why a good poem is not read, but savoured, rolled round on the tongue, breathed in, and finally consumed, burning the throat of the soul all the way down.

Sometimes it'll make ya cough too.

 

[Anschul]

It is a bistro, after all.

----



Poetry is the distillation of experience and sensation down to it's headiest elements. It is to prose as scotch is to beer. Poets are the brewers of this draught. This is why a good poem is not read, but savoured, rolled round on the tongue, breathed in, and finally consumed, burning the throat of the soul all the way down.

Sometimes it'll make ya cough too.

Bless you, my friend. I second the emotion.

 

[unpredictablebijou]

Well here it is Tuesday already. Imagine!

Weather Report from the HeartLand:

Kansas is named after one of the tribes we stole it from, who called themselves the Kansa tribe, which roughly translates as "people of the South Wind." But that's not the wind for which they named themselves. It's more like a South-Southwest wind, and it's very, very distinct. Completely different, and somehow more conscious, more affecting, deeper than the other kinds of wind here.

Many areas of the world have strange winds, mythical winds. Le Mistral. The Scirocco. The Levant. Strange, particular winds are everywhere. The Kansas is just our local version. And today it has arrived, along with bright sun and a clear sky. It's a cool wind but it is without any winter edge; this is definitely spring blowing in. The pear trees (fat white blossoms), the redbuds (tiny frothy pink blossoms), and the forsythia (long fronds crowded with bright yellow trumpets), all these early trees are now in bloom, a complete pastel madness along the side of the road, and it astounds me how those delicate little blossoms can hang on in this mad force that lashes them back and forth.

Everybody's a little crazy here today; it's the first real spring day, absolutely identifiable to everyone, and the wind makes them manic. It blows right through your body, this wind, not because of cold but because it has such a distinct, conscious, complex voice. You find yourself listening for messages.

I'll be back in a bit for a mass leg-humping. It is Tuesday and I have been remiss.

Bienvenue,

bj

 

[UnderYourSpell]

Meeeeeeee first miss please pleaseeeee *waves hand and knickers in the air*

 

[Angeline]

Well here it is Tuesday already. Imagine!

Weather Report from the HeartLand:

Kansas is named after one of the tribes we stole it from, who called themselves the Kansa tribe, which roughly translates as "people of the South Wind." But that's not the wind for which they named themselves. It's more like a South-Southwest wind, and it's very, very distinct. Completely different, and somehow more conscious, more affecting, deeper than the other kinds of wind here.

Many areas of the world have strange winds, mythical winds. Le Mistral. The Scirocco. The Levant. Strange, particular winds are everywhere. The Kansas is just our local version. And today it has arrived, along with bright sun and a clear sky. It's a cool wind but it is without any winter edge; this is definitely spring blowing in. The pear trees (fat white blossoms), the redbuds (tiny frothy pink blossoms), and the forsythia (long fronds crowded with bright yellow trumpets), all these early trees are now in bloom, a complete pastel madness along the side of the road, and it astounds me how those delicate little blossoms can hang on in this mad force that lashes them back and forth.

Everybody's a little crazy here today; it's the first real spring day, absolutely identifiable to everyone, and the wind makes them manic. It blows right through your body, this wind, not because of cold but because it has such a distinct, conscious, complex voice. You find yourself listening for messages.

I'll be back in a bit for a mass leg-humping. It is Tuesday and I have been remiss.

Bienvenue,

bj

<Slinks in and collapses by the bar in exhaustion.>

I have about 40 pages to go, and then my first edit of the book is done. Whew. I have to do at least 20 hours of essay scoring per week for the rest of the month, too. And I figure in around a week or so, the book will come back for the next round of edits. You'd think sitting around and reading isn't that much work: it's mentally very tiring. And I can't even think about writing a poem until I at least get that first edit out of the way.

I'll take a diet Coke and a leg hump, please. And CheffyZilla, will you do the cookin tonight? I did manage to get the three loaves of bread done yesterday, but today all I could muster was putting up a pot of turkey stock. My eagleyez is sick (sinusitis, I think), so he doesn't feel like eating much anyway. Maybe I'll get wild later and make us some scrambled eggs to go with my scrambled mind.

 

[UnderYourSpell]

Ouch and get well soon eagleyez gentle hugs to both
*stops waving knickers around and being a distraction*

 

[UnderYourSpell]

I've just written a rude poem and am now considering whether to post or not lol can be taken two ways and not sure if I want it to be if you get my drift

 

[unpredictablebijou]

I've just written a rude poem and am now considering whether to post or not lol can be taken two ways and not sure if I want it to be if you get my drift

o c'mon give.

I'm still humping legs, but I've got two windows open so I can watch for your poem.

bj

 

[Guest]

............

 

[unpredictablebijou]

Leg-Humping Tuesday

Witchling, you wave those knickers round just as much as you like. I bet they'll cheer everyone right up. And of course I'll hump your leg! I like it best when people ask; that way I know I'm catching everyone who needs it.

You, darlin' are often the first best bright spot in my day. And I recently decided I'm going to go back through and find all your wonderful turns of phrase and start writing them down. They may be mere local slang to you, but to me they're thoroughly wonderful.

*knickers! **giggle* I LOVE that word!

I may set a record today for most legs humped. But currently I'm rather filled with admiration for a whole bunch of people, primarily those who are willing to take on these various challenges, especially the hard ones.

I particularly admire these because I am so ambivalent about my own early drafts, so anyone who's willing to bare their underwear like that, loose elastic and all, has my deep respect.

The problem with naming names is that I may accidentally leave someone out. But I must remind you that I don't hold the monopoly on leg-humping around here, regardless of public opinion. Anyone who wants to give props to anyone about anything is encouraged to do so. The world needs more of that sort of thing.

But, y'know, just for starters, take a look at the 30/30 and the 5 in 5. Pandora and Eluard, chugging away at set after set in the 5 thread, doing some stunning work. O goodness, Pandora, it's all I can do not to hump your leg on a daily basis. And there's Champagne, of course, but I hump her leg so much I had to buy her a Tyvek suit. Her skills are outweighed only by her immense sweetness.

Homburg's been in there being very brave too, and doing solid work, even though he keeps claiming he's only here for the rope bunnies. And even Angeline popped in, so that's the FIRST reason to hump her leg.

And how bout that 30/30? The regulars in there just amaze me. Not just going in, but going in repeatedly, throwing themselves down every day for a month. Go read, like, all the way back to December and January, and watch AChild and Yoron and Pandora and 4Degrees (mad for his work; it takes the top of my head off) and annaswirls and unbridledpassion and manipulatrix and Jamison, (ahem. Leg. Hump.) and of course vampiredust keeps going in like a prizefighter over and over...

Pauvre Angel! I know how much that stuff eats your brain. Reading something is one thing; reading something you're in some way responsible for is entirely another, and far more tiring.

And loststar, I humped your leg yesterday with a set on Radio Free Jezebel but you may have been too moody to notice. Keep the faith, baby.

*whew* now I need a drink. Think I'll slump next to Angeline. Diet Coke for you (mmm, formaldehyde) and I'll just fix a big cuppa joe. Can I get anyone anything? Besides a towel, after that last bit of crowd-humping?

As an aside, I find a good hot/sour soup kicks sinus problems pretty effectively. Sometimes I just make chicken soup and add hot sauce and white vinegar to it till it blows up my head.

love and gratitude today
bj

 

[Angeline]

Ouch and get well soon eagleyez gentle hugs to both
*stops waving knickers around and being a distraction*

Oh by all means continue to wave those knickers and post rude poems cause a) it's fun (!) and b) ee loves waving knickers and naughty poetry. I haven't seen a sickness yet that puts that man's horniness in abeyance. It's one of the many reasons I love him so much.

A chamomile tea with honey and lemon, or just hot water with the lemon juice and honey is good for sinus problems. And if it really is a sinusitis infection, ee needs to get himself some antibiotics because it won't go away on its (infection) own.

Yes, Papa-san. I have all that stuff, plus the broth will be ready in another hour or so. I'll throw some pastina in it and spoon feed him. He likes that.

OTOH, if he's still this sick tomorrow, I will probably have to drag him kicking and screaming to the doctor for antibiotics. I've never known someone who is so utterly fearless in every way but going to the doc. He is the biggest chicken in the world about that. Absolutely despises going to the doc.

Oh I do love all you poets.

 

[Angeline]

Witchling, you wave those knickers round just as much as you like. I bet they'll cheer everyone right up. And of course I'll hump your leg! I like it best when people ask; that way I know I'm catching everyone who needs it.

You, darlin' are often the first best bright spot in my day. And I recently decided I'm going to go back through and find all your wonderful turns of phrase and start writing them down. They may be mere local slang to you, but to me they're thoroughly wonderful.

*knickers! **giggle* I LOVE that word!

I may set a record today for most legs humped. But currently I'm rather filled with admiration for a whole bunch of people, primarily those who are willing to take on these various challenges, especially the hard ones.

I particularly admire these because I am so ambivalent about my own early drafts, so anyone who's willing to bare their underwear like that, loose elastic and all, has my deep respect.

The problem with naming names is that I may accidentally leave someone out. But I must remind you that I don't hold the monopoly on leg-humping around here, regardless of public opinion. Anyone who wants to give props to anyone about anything is encouraged to do so. The world needs more of that sort of thing.

But, y'know, just for starters, take a look at the 30/30 and the 5 in 5. Pandora and Eluard, chugging away at set after set in the 5 thread, doing some stunning work. O goodness, Pandora, it's all I can do not to hump your leg on a daily basis. And there's Champagne, of course, but I hump her leg so much I had to buy her a Tyvek suit. Her skills are outweighed only by her immense sweetness.

Homburg's been in there being very brave too, and doing solid work, even though he keeps claiming he's only here for the rope bunnies. And even Angeline popped in, so that's the FIRST reason to hump her leg.

And how bout that 30/30? The regulars in there just amaze me. Not just going in, but going in repeatedly, throwing themselves down every day for a month. Go read, like, all the way back to December and January, and watch AChild and Yoron and Pandora and 4Degrees (mad for his work; it takes the top of my head off) and annaswirls and unbridledpassion and manipulatrix and Jamison, (ahem. Leg. Hump.) and of course vampiredust keeps going in like a prizefighter over and over...

Pauvre Angel! I know how much that stuff eats your brain. Reading something is one thing; reading something you're in some way responsible for is entirely another, and far more tiring.

And loststar, I humped your leg yesterday with a set on Radio Free Jezebel but you may have been too moody to notice. Keep the faith, baby.

*whew* now I need a drink. Think I'll slump next to Angeline. Diet Coke for you (mmm, formaldehyde) and I'll just fix a big cuppa joe. Can I get anyone anything? Besides a towel, after that last bit of crowd-humping?

As an aside, I find a good hot/sour soup kicks sinus problems pretty effectively. Sometimes I just make chicken soup and add hot sauce and white vinegar to it till it blows up my head.
love and gratitude today
bj

Oooh, great idea! I just bought some Vietnamese chili sauce the other day that is both vinegary and stunningly hot. I dunno if his tummy can handle it, but I'll have some.

And a big humpety hump for the owner of this fine establishment who comes in here without fail and cheers all our grumpiness away. And writes wonderful poetry. You're the bestest Evil Viz I know!

 

[Homburg]

I have been blessed with proximity.
I have never looked off into the middle distance and lost myself in fervent wishes that I was There.
I have never known Fear as a song in the back of my mind, not just a cursory flutter before the shield of aggression cloaks my heart.
I have never felt vulnerable, my emotional underbelly rolled skyward to the circling wolves of whimsical Fate.
Alien feelings, invading the fortress of I, making me wonder and question from whence they came, and why my balance has dissappeared.

She calls.
I smile.
It balances out.


NOTE: This is a ramble, not a poem.

 

[UnderYourSpell]

I did mean submitting on the general forum but I can put it in here first if you like

Not what nature intended, but I
crave after just one taste
this darkness fills my soul with need
willing to beg
and offer my all
'till drugged with anticipation
the high it brings begins again.
this wonderland
this heaven.

 

[unpredictablebijou]

NOTE: This is a ramble, not a poem.

I think we'll just be deciding what's a poem and what's not in here, mister, and that is most definitely a poem.

but then what do I know.

And Witchling, I'd say just run it up the flagpole and see who salutes. Maybe it's actually a better piece for having a dual meaning to it... you think?

shucks, Ange. o g'wan.

hey stop that or people will say you're humping my leg... LOL!!!!

bj

 

[LeBroz]

As an aside, I find a good hot/sour soup kicks sinus problems pretty effectively. Sometimes I just make chicken soup and add hot sauce and white vinegar to it till it blows up my head.

Oooh, great idea! I just bought some Vietnamese chili sauce the other day that is both vinegary and stunningly hot. I dunno if his tummy can handle it, but I'll have some.

When you're cooking for one {and that totally sucks} I find a quick way to clear up a head stuff is with a modified preparation of Ramen. Rather than the 2 cups of water the package calls for, I start with a single cup of water, break up the noodles and add to boiling water, along with 2 raw eggs, the flavor packet, chopped onion greens, and approx 1 tsp crushed red pepper. The worse I feel, the more crushed red pepper I use. It clears everything out, and I do mean everything!

.
.

 

[unpredictablebijou]

When you're cooking for one {and that totally sucks} I find a quick way to clear up a head stuff is with a modified preparation of Ramen. Rather than the 2 cups of water the package calls for, I start with a single cup of water, break up the noodles and add to boiling water, along with 2 raw eggs, the flavor packet, chopped onion greens, and approx 1 tsp crushed red pepper. The worse I feel, the more crushed red pepper I use. It clears everything out, and I do mean everything!

.
.

*drive-by humping for LeBroz although if I keep this up he'll probably get a restraining order*

bj

 

[Homburg]

I think we'll just be deciding what's a poem and what's not in here, mister, and that is most definitely a poem.

but then what do I know.

bj

Ramble.

Suck it.