Pie

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ray miller
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Mon Nov 29, 2021 2:11 pm

She would come out of school
with portions of food attached
to her cardigan, skirt and tie.
Pie, she’d reply, when asked what it was,
curry pie, pie lasagne, pie‘n’mash.

Every lad in her set
was her boyfriend –though she’d forget
which one was which. They remained unaware
of the status they shared
or so scared they’d pretend to be sick.

Now she’s learnt to discern
between pancakes and pizzas,
give spag bog and risotto their names,
we note a sartorial difference -
she arrives home free of food stains.

Can naming the dishes which we consume
help us proceed with more caution?
Is it luck, an alignment of fork and spoon?
We hope for some correlation:
next term it’s sex education.
I'm out of faith and in my cups
I contemplate such bitter stuff.
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CalebPerry
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Tue Nov 30, 2021 11:53 am

I wanted to comment but couldn't figure out the meaning. I'll have to wait for someone else to comment. I think this one is over my head.
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Macavity
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Tue Nov 30, 2021 2:48 pm

I thought it was about the development of a child, one that has been neglected and is learning to adjust. The next growing-up stage, sex education, is a worry because there could be more consequences. The food 'fun' will be over. I like S1 and the generalised labelling, S2 emphasized her outsider/child status, S3 her up on the learning curve. The carers hope this translates to a more mature awareness when 'social' behaviours relate to hooking up with boys. An appetite of another kind.
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camus
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Fri Dec 03, 2021 1:32 am

There's an allegory going on here, although I'm not quite sure what it entails. Food/sexual ambiguity?
We hope for some correlation:
Indeed!

Sorry not working for me, it seems to be lacking your usual polemic depth.

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Kris
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Fri Dec 03, 2021 4:37 pm

I really liked the last stanza. I also thought that this is a poem about the development of a child. Not sure if this child is neglected though.
And no, naming the dishes does not help us proceed with more caution.
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