Allegory

Photo by Ilya Shishikhin on Unsplash

I read a lot of I Ching as a young adult – and its full of (nature-related) allegories. That probably shaped my thinking (for the better!) and now I find a lot of answers to Life situations in allegories, most often in nature, just by observing.

I’m a proud member of the Poetry Posse here at Substack, and the June prompt was ‘allegory’.

I was inspired to write a little series, you’ll find them here below.

I’d love to read yours! Leave one in the comments, will you?!

The Garden

My garden taught me

that seeds

take their time to germinate.

This year

plants are popping up

that I sowed last year

and the year before.

Because nothing came up

I thought the seeds weren’t viable.

Luckily I was wrong.

They just needed

more time.

The Market

The market square is huge,

teeming with people and impressions.

Voices and scents are carried through the air,

there’s an excited buzz,

as potential customers seek their desired treasures.

The veteran sellers have the best spots.

There are stalls attracting attention with gimmicks;

a monkey in a costume, colourful flags, magic tricks, a sounding voice.

How do you, with your valuable offerings get found in this chaos?

By showing up.

By genuine care and honesty.

The word of mouth will ripple out

and reach

more and better

than any trick ever could.

A Great Dish

* value – no fast food, not just comfort, but actually nourishing.

* skill – the flavours at play need to be tweaked to an intriguing balance, creating a synergy that plays on the palate.

* the art of editing – out of all the ingredients available, which ones would go with the dish you’re creating? And then; which ones are you actually going to use, and which do you leave out? Why?

* plating – a feast for the eye, teasing the appetite visually before you’ve even tasted.

Running

I’m not a sprinter.

I run long distances,

steadily

in my own cadence.

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