An ode to the Artichoke

I would like to share a poem from the favorite post-post modern author and good friend of our daughter Stacy:


Artichokes how do I love thee?
Let me count the ways
I love thee boiled, simmered, and steamed
Be it your leaves, your stalk, or any part unseen
God forbid we stand apart for even one day.

Artichokes how do I love thee?
Let me count the ways
I love thee with salt, with oil, or any other way you will
So long as we meet in that land of Castroville
During this merry month of May.

My heart is yours and yours is mine!
Thanks be to that winged archer of love
Whose piercing arrow from above
Granted to my lips a food so divine.

From Philip Indorf: A Collection of Sonnets, the Early Years