Poetry

Cereal

Rosalee Martin 6-10-21

I ate a bowl of cereal today

Not just today

But often.

Yet today

I really tasted it;

Each ingredient massaged my taste bud

Wheat cereal with raison

Large organic bran crunched in my mouth

Scattering into my teeth,

Moved around by my tongue

And sliding down my throat

Not alone but with raison sticking to the bran

My teeth and my gums

Forcing me to move my tongue

To the places it reside

But not just bran and raison

Added fresh strawberries

Walnuts and chocolate covered raisons

A visual combination of delight

Red scattered across the bowl

Holding its own

In coconut and almond milk

And walnuts odd shape with its own textures

Created crunching noise

Pulling in another sense

And chocolate

Changes from soft to hard

As coldness encompass it

Not melting but being bitten.

I ate raisin bran cereal

With walnut and strawberries and chocolate raison

Each bite different

Depending on the dominating ingredients

The strawberries not hidden, took center stage

Giving the tastebuds a reintroduction

To a fruit that improves eye health,

An antioxidant.

Walnuts, a heart medicine

Giving the body needed fatty acid that fights inflammation.

Bran, fiber, and complex carbohydrates

Speeding food and waste through body systems,

Associated with gut health, the second brain.

And raisons, bone strength and digestive aids

Another form of grapes, having a sweet taste

Natural sugar.

All moving in coconut and almond milk

Bringing vitamins and minerals to the experience

Today I ate cereal

Different from other times

When ingredients blended

No distinctive taste emerge

Then ate because I need to eat

Not enjoying the unique flavors

Of each ingredient

But today,

Being mindfulness to the food I ate

And really letting its nutritious values

Work for me!

Wellness

By Rosalee Martin 6/8/21

Today, I feel well

More than absent of illness

But core well

Internally well

Holistic well

Well from the inside out

Came from valuing myself, God and others

Today, I smile

A smile that jumps from my face

Stretching from eternity to eternity

One that reflects the sun

As if on the ground with all of its brilliance

Lighting up the earth throughout the day.

Today, I serve

Not a selfish serve

That elevates me at the expense of others

But service that undergirds the vulnerable

Marginalized and underserved

Giving as many flowers

When they can be smelled

Today, I accept gifts of love

Peace and joy

First from myself

Then from others,

And always from God

Today I pray, meditate,

Knowing the power to heal

Lies within me,

My attitude, my self-talk

My conversations,

My outreach

And my truth.

Today, the first day

Of the rest of my life

I breathe deeply,

Love hilariously

Smell the roses

Take hold of my possibilities

And not feel guilty

For focusing on me

Today, I know who I am

That I am wonderfully made;

God makes no mistakes,

And that truth keeps well and whole.