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4 Aug: "Love Like Salt" by Lisel Mueller

It lies in our hands in crystals 
too intricate to decipher 

It goes into the skillet 
without being given a second thought 

It spills on the floor so fine 
we step all over it 

We carry a pinch behind each eyeball 

It breaks out on our foreheads 

We store it inside our bodies 
in secret wineskins 

At supper, we pass it around the table 
talking of holidays and the sea.

1 comment:

  1. Great extended metaphor! I really like the parallels internally and externally of salt to humans. It also adds a more complex meaning than just being physical and emotional because salt/love can be something spilt and wasted on the floor or shared with family on vacation. "Too intricate to decipher," I don't believe that, but it fits well into the poem.

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