THE ECSTASY OF FAMILIARITY

“When God by circumstances of time and place doth call for moderation of carnal appetite, the transgression is more heinous and offensive unto God.” - David Dickson
 
I have blogged before about the intricate, arresting, surrealist art of Jacek Yerka and it seems that this artist’s canvases brimming with vivid imagery and rich symbolism are a perfect vehicle for Magpie Tales’ creative writing stimulation.
 
Here is my poem that was written after I considered Yerka’s  “Between Heaven and Hell” (1989) that was selected for this week’s artistic springboard for our imagination.
 
The Ecstasy of Familiarity
 
The food of love
Is cooked in the kitchen of familiarity;
Each dish prepared
With consummate carelessness,
Bred by intimacy
That has been carefully cultivated over years.
 
Your flesh warm,
Inviting and desirable, more succulent
Than any carnivorous
Delectation placed upon dinner table
By a skilful chef,
And dressed by an expert saucier.
 
We feast on our carnality,
The kitchen table suitable for our excesses
As kiss upon kiss
Leads to our fusion according to our recipe
Perfected by practice
And by our apposite harmony of spicy mixtures.
 
Once sated to surfeit,
All spent, we gaze out of the windows of our eyes
Seeing both sides of the coin
An Eden and a Gehenna, both prized and reviled;
Our meeting fleeting, but,
Our love eternal, transcending the everyday.
 
The apple more than temptation,
The larder fuller than hunger would dictate,
The heart brimming with expectation,
The desire more searing than the hotplate,
Our cooking preparations more to feed the soul
Than jaded palates with sweetmeat to cajole.