Yes, that's what I said. Since I'm teaching five yoga classes each week, I'm expending lots of energy. My personal trainer daughter says I have to increase my calorie intake. I've been experimenting with different protein powder supplements. I like the healthier ones without additives, but most of them are sweetened with stevia. While it gives you sweetness without adding sugar, it leaves me with an aftertaste I don't care for. I'm not a big fan of sweet drinks anyway. I drink my coffee black and avoid soda altogether. This week my husband came home with a new one. Ugh! It tastes like dirt. Not sweet, which is nice, but it really does taste like dirt. So on with the search. I'm open to suggestions.
In the meantime, I came upon Alice Schertle's "Invitation from a Mole" as the perfect poem to go with my dirtful week.
Be sure to stop by the Poetry Friday Roundup at
Miss Rumphius Effect where you can dig up lots more poetry today.
Invitation from a Mole
come on down
live among worms awhile
taste dirt
on the tip of your tongue
smell
the sweet damp feet of mushrooms
listen to roots
reaching
deeper
press your cheek against
the cold face of a stone
wear the earth like a glove
close your eyes
wrap yourself in darkness
see
what you're missing
---from
A Lucky Thing by Alice Schertle, c 1999, Harcourt Brace & Co.
What an unexpected invitation! I like "seeing" with our eyes closed. You picked a great photo to go with it. Have you tried Lara bars? I don't know whether you would find them too sweet or not.
ReplyDeleteThis mole is endearing in his own way. What a cool poem! Hope you find a delicious protein powder soon.
ReplyDeleteHi, Dori. The poem reminds me of Wind in the Willows -- no surprise. That's one mole I would have been glad to join. Have you tried dried dates as a sweetener? They are a great add-in for healthy shakes.
ReplyDeleteI hope you do find something more palatable, but also wonder how you know it's a dirt taste anyway? Alice Schertle writes such gorgeous poems. "Wear the earth like a glove". Thanks for this one, Dori. It sounds as if your business is going well!
ReplyDeleteMight you enjoy snacking on cashews? I wonder if Alice Schertle has tasted dirt. I love the line "wear the earth like a glove."
ReplyDeleteAlice is so talented, another of the UCLA crew, Thanks for sharing this poem. I can smell the rich dirt now.
ReplyDeleteWe uncovered baby moles on one of our school work projects. How fun to "see" what you're missing when wrapped in darkness.
ReplyDeleteLucky Mole, to be so perfectly suited for its work and life, to dig its poem right down to the key word -- SEE -- and invite us to think differently about what it means to experience our world.
ReplyDelete"The sweet damp feet of mushrooms" - love this line. Alice Schertle is one of my favorite poets. Thanks for reminding me to open her books. = )
ReplyDeleteI thought this name looked familiar, and sure enough -- I read one of hers with my seventh graders every year.
ReplyDelete