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Diana Folsom's avatar

Love this! And love your table! Here's another table poem by Pablo Neruda...

Ode to the table

- Pablo Neruda

I work out my odes

on a four-legged table

laying before me bread and wine

and roast meat

(that black boat

of our dreams)

Sometimes I set out scissors, cups and nails,

hammers and carnations.

Tables are trustworthy:

titanic quadrupeds

they sustain

our hopes and our daily life.

The rich man's table,

scrolled and shining

is

a fabulous ship

bearing bunches of fruit.

Gluttony's table is a wonder

piled high with Gothic lobsters

and there is also a lonesome

table in our aunt's dining room,

in summer. They've closed

the curtains,

and a single ray of summer light

strikes like a sword

upon this table sitting in the dark

and greets the plums' transparent peace.

And there is a faraway table, a humble table,

where they're weaving

a wreath

for

a dead miner.

That table gives off the chilling odor

of a man's wasted pain.

There's a table

in a shadowy room nearby

that love sets ablaze with its flames.

A woman's glove was left behind there,

trembling like a husk of fire.

The world is a table

engulfed in honey and smoke

smothered by apples and blood.

The table is already set,

and we know the truth

as soon as we are called:

whether we're called to war or to dinner

we will have to choose sides,

have to know

how we'll dress

to sit

at the long table,

whether we'll wear the pants of hate

or the shirt of love, freshly laundered.

It's time to decide,

they're calling:

boys and girls,

let's eat!

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Jan Peppler's avatar

That is wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing, I wasn’t familiar with this 🧡

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Rachel Stevens's avatar

Yet another beautiful bit of reflection.

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Jan Peppler's avatar

Thank you, friend

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Lisa Oliver's avatar

This brought back SO many great memories!💜

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Jan Peppler's avatar

me too!! Life around that kitchen table requires an essay in itself. :)

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Lisa Oliver's avatar

Most definitely! SO many beautiful moments happened around her table. Makes my heart warm just thinking about it.💜

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Claudia A's avatar

Such a lovely post, Jan. Warm and true. Thank you!

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Jan Peppler's avatar

Thank you, friend. I can picture YOUR round table as I write this!

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Switter’s World's avatar

We have a round, oak, pedestal table that looks a lot like yours, except ours was made in Croatia, for whatever sense that makes, but probably in the context of our family life, makes a lot of sense.

Thanks, neighbor. That was a good one. I’ve been thinking about making a trip over the hill to throw a few pennies on Papa’s grave, but mostly to visit the grave of a wonderful old friend who drew cartoons for the Mountain Express, Norman Algiers. I’ll let you know when and maybe we can meet up.

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Jan Peppler's avatar

Hey, I'd love that! Please do let me know if you come this way! The week of the 19th is always super busy for me (no matter what day that falls) but any other time I can rearrange things. Would love to see you :)

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Susan Fusco-Fazio's avatar

I have a round oak table and that’s the kitchen table that Laura Paul and I sat around during her 14 3/4 years of life. We still have that table though our kitchen now has one of those modern marble counters we bought the house that way, I’m not really a fan of the modern kitchen. I kept that oak table. It will always be in our life and I keep it in a quarter and I put my record player on it and I have a vase of sunflowers on it and it’s a special table that will stay with me forever. Thanks for reminding me about the value of the kitchen table and I had a lot of good memories around my kitchen table growing up as well. I’m so glad that Tom kept that table.

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Jan Peppler's avatar

oh Susan, what a special way to keep the table you shared with your daughter!! Music and sunflowers. So perfect, so sweet.

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