Saturday, May 30, 2009

Ode To Milk

I've always liked iced lattes, but lately, I've been on a crazy milk kick. I fill my little drink container with ice, add a squirt of Hershey's syrup and shake for a cold, delicious treat. It's really getting out of hand. So much so, I can't go without having a gallon of milk in the truck. So I decided to write a poem about how I feel.


Ode To Milk

Milk, I’ve always liked you.
Let me tell you why.
I was first introduced to you through a nipple. Bottle, not breast.
As a kid, you were a big part of my life. I had you in cereal, mixed you in oatmeal and blended you with chocolate, which was served hot and with marshmallows.
You were the base for homemade milkshakes and chocolate mousse, my father put you in mashed potatoes and my grandmother made you into creamy chocolate pudding.
Sometimes, my mother would warm you and serve you up before bed if my belly was rumbling.

I've always wished I'd lived in the era where you showed up on my doorstep in a glass bottle.
If you did, I’d have taken you inside and spooned the delicious cream off the top, saving the rest of you for later.
I’d never let you spoil or worse, get sour.
I wish I had a milk man.

For a while, during my teens years, I drifted away from you. You know, the age when girls are sort of fickle. I acquired a taste for Diet Coke and Kool-Aid and couldn’t figure a way to fit you in. Although I did combine you with root beer sometimes, a trick my step-father taught me, and you seemed pleased to be so delicious. I think you liked the carbonation; the fizz made you happy.

Then as I got a little older, I discovered you were great for cooking. You made my cream of broccoli soup more delicious, my scrambled eggs fluffy, and my smoothies well, smooth. And I could never make my Aunt Ronni’s amazing rice pudding without you. You were the star of that dish.

And let’s not forget the quintessential use for milk, the place where you really shine, in a combination known all over the world, on every continent and among even the biggest celebrities. Like Santa. Don’t be shy, you know what I’m talking about. Milk and cookies. Or, cookies and milk. Either way, most people won’t eat one without the other; especially not Santa.

You always seem to be high in demand and so many treats wouldn’t be the same without you. Milk chocolate for instance; pizza, yogurt and cheese. Oooooh, cheese...and cheesecake! Or Kahlua and milk, which is often the only alcoholic drink I imbibe. And you’re so international; leche in Spanish, lait in French, latte in Italian. Let’s take that word, latte, for instance. I guess Michelangelo and Leonard da Vinci aren’t the only Italians known the world over. You’re famous. Millions of people utter your name every day, making you into more of a thing, than just a name for a thing. You are the latte. People have you; “I’ll have a latte.” They take possession of you; “Make mine a latte.” Although sometimes, they bastardize you; the soy latte.

And not only are you good, but you’re good for us. You provide calcium and vitamin D and you’re good for my bones! I love you most with Hershey’s syrup, but if you’re icy cold, I’ll take you alone. I pray to never become intolerant to lactose because frankly, I don’t know what I’d do without you.

I love you, Milk.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
1 YEAR AGO:
Eddie On The Rocks Friday
2 YEARS AGO:
The Unintentional Beating Of A Red State Child
3 YEARS AGO:
Homeless Shelter
4 YEARS AGO: Sorry, no post from 5/30/05

3 comments:

Gil said...

Nice tribute to milk! I like it best in ice cream.

all things bradbury said...

I love milk....and everthing that you make with milk....and most things that have milk in their name.(milkyway, milk bath, etc)...even the cows milk comes from......and now, this tribute to milk!!....lol....great job, salena!

Jules said...

I didn't think anyone could love milk more than I and I AM lactose intolerant (thank-you Lactaid!). LOVE the poem - one of my favorite things you have ever composed! Love you! Jules xo