“ode to gluttony, or…” by Paula Turcotte
Poetry Pause is the League of Canadian Poets’ daily poetry dispatch. Read “ode to gluttony, or…” by Paula Turcotte.
ode to gluttony, or, a poem in which several impossible things happen and i achieve serenity
By Paula Turcotte
i.
an entire box of oreos, a single sitting. afterward i dig my fingers into my stomach, pry it open, pick them
out one by one.
ii.
spoonfuls of raspberry jam, my least favourite kind but all that’s left in the fridge. i eat it like yogurt. i put
my head into the jar and lick it clean and it balloons around me, a blown-glass bubble, a bulwark.
iii.
all the kernels from the bottom of the bowl, dill-coated, salt-painful. when they pop in my belly i float
upside-down for a week. they try to pull me off the ceiling and i say no thanks it’s nice up here.
iv.
raisins by the fistful. i chew and chew and chew until they become a sultana conglomerate. i worm off
bits with my parrot-tongue and swallow.
v.
a tupperware of leftover frosting after i bake the cake for my best friend’s thirtieth. i smile polite, sing,
and have one slice after supper. then i come home and take my clothes off. i bathe, euphoric, in the
butter sugar cocoa, my own private party, better than a thousand happy birthdays.
Copyright © Paula Turcotte
Previously published in Permutations (Baseline Press, 2024).
Paula Turcotte loves her dog, your dog, and Raisin Bran. She lives in Moh’kins’stis (colonially known as Calgary). She is the author of the chapbook Permutations (Baseline Press, July 2024). Her poems have been shortlisted for The Malahat Review’s Far Horizons Award and Aesthetica’s Creative Writing Award. You can find her recent work in Canthius, PRISM international, BAD DOG MAG, and elsewhere. Paula serves as a poetry editor at MAYDAY.
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