Wednesday's Tuesday Teatime

Theme: Mexico

I made Mexican wedding cakes and Mexican hot chocolate (our version consists of regular hot chocolate mix with a sprinkle of cinnamon, served in a cup with a cinnamon stick).

I read poetry of Alberto Blanco -- some of his verses from Insects Are Perfect Too (Tambien los insectos son perfectos). I read first in Spanish, then in English, so we could hear how the rhythm and rhyme worked in each language. The translations were by Judith Infante, and were pretty literal -- she did not try to revamp to make rhymes in English. These were from the book The Tree is Older Than You Are .

After that I switched to Adelita by Tomie de Paola.

My own private poetry moment came much later when I was taking the trash out. Oddly, the sky is clear and starry whenever I take the trash out. This was a wonderful gift this week, when I'm feeling so very alone. "There's a star in the wind/and the wind winds high/blowing aloft/thru fog thru night/Thru cold, thru cold/and the bitter alone.../There high in the wind/rides a star, my own/And the star is a word/of white, of white/and the star in the wind/Is a word" Amazing how the young mind will seize and memorize any poetry available -- I picked that up years and years ago, maybe in fifth grade. Certainly no one asked me to memorize it. Perhaps a prize will be offered for those who identify the author.

Right now morning gilds the sky, so I must go.