Thursday, October 27, 2016

A Matter of Taste

 

 'Do you like it?', she excitedly asked,
smiling, and expecting me to answer
positively and wholeheartedly 
to her pressing, culinary inquiry. 
 

Suddenly,
the forks went down,
the knives stood by,
the glasses clinked,
my mouth went dry.

'It's delicious!', I, of course, replied,
but the eyes don't lie, do they?

Instantly,
it seemed everyone had lost their appetite -
(the perfect excuse not to eat another bite!),
I bet.

 
And so, 
as cutlery etiquette goes,
every knife and fork disclosed 
(plate position 4:20 on the nose!), 
that dinner time was duly over.


 
 Dessert was promptly served, and
 as the coffee was being stirred,
 I hoped that my honest reaction
to my hostess's 'trick' question 
wasn't too much of an indiscretion;
 believe me, that wasn't my intention! 



 After all,
it's impossible to be objective
with regards to matters of taste:
 we're wired to be selective,
when our buds are faced  
with salty or sweet,
veggies or meat,
black or white, but
 when it comes to
who is wrong or
what is right,
we're not. That
takes thought, 
and plenty of it. 

Written for Susan's Midweek Motif:
'Neutrality/Objectivity' 
at Poet's United

Thanks for visiting!
Poppy