Today's Poem: "Do I Dare to Eat a Leaf?" by Kathleen Hellen
- FLAPPER PRESS
- 4 minutes ago
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by Flapper Press Poetry Café:
The Flapper Press Poetry Café continues its series called TODAY'S POEM, highlighting one poem per article—that's right, just one—from poets from around the world.
Read our SUBMISSION GUIDELINES for TODAY'S POEM and send us your work for consideration to be published in 2026! Of course, you are always welcome to submit more of your work through our regular submission process as well. You can hit the link at the bottom of the article to read our regular guidelines. We'd love to see your poetry!
Today, we feature the poetry of Kathleen Hellen!
Kathleen Hellen is the author of three collections and three poetry chapbooks, most recently young girl in the flower of time from Lily Poetry Review Press.
Do I dare to eat a leaf?
Green, how I want you green.
Green head. Green leaf.
The crisp and crunchy.
The light with a gentle fiber.
The soft and tender. O,
tender those nights with a mild fresh taste
to join the cucumber, carrot. O, those brunches with wine
and olive, pepperoncino.
Let us go then, you and I,
To a supermarket in California
To find
The mild and watery
The earthy and slightly bitter
The soft, sweet, and floral.
In my hungry fatigue, and shopping for images,
I have to mind the headlines, though.
Which farm insidious in Yuma or Salinas, El Bajio?
Which Taco Bell or WalMart?
Whole families shopping … babies in the tomatoes! —and you,
Cyclospora, what were you doing in the raspberries?
—My friend, I want to die
decently in my bed
Not etherized upon a table.
Green, how I want you green.
Is this the end or the beginning?
Just the tip of the iceberg.
From the poet:
In this poem, I wanted to riff on the cyclospora outbreak. I started with the existential question of "Prufrock": Is there a chance that an individual's action can make a difference when systems of power fail us? Then other voices announced themselves: Lorca, Ginsberg, even a hint of Fitzgerald, each speaking to the questions inherent in American capitalism and the mass-consumer culture.
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