# Board



## aj47 (Oct 25, 2011)

Board

I used to be a maple tree
In dappling shadows where I stood
The people came to harvest me
And now I'm just a slab of wood

I could have been a cabinet door
Or headboard for a king-sized bed
I've met an end that I abhor
For I'm an altar now instead

They bring them here to sacrifice
They lay them down then use the knife
To slice and chop and mince and dice
And rob each vegetable of life

They each scream out but no one hears
Their silent torment, final pain
As onions cry and spread their tears
Tomatoes bleed in crimson stain

The blade plays out resounding thunks
Until the salad's finally made
The vegetables in bite-sized chunks
And tossed with seasoned marinade

They cleanse me of the bloody slime
Then hang me up where I'm  ignored
Until again it's salad time
For I am just their cutting board


----------



## feralpen (Oct 25, 2011)

Hi Annie;

  You've certainly nailed this whimsical write. Martha Stewart would be very proud. Seriously funny.

fp


----------



## candid petunia (Oct 25, 2011)

Great work, Annie. Was really fun to read.



> They bring them here to sacrifice
> They lay them down then use the knife
> To slice and chop and mince and dice
> And rob each vegetable of life





> The blade plays out resounding thunks
> Until the salad's finally made
> The vegetables in bite-sized chunks
> And tossed with seasoned marinade



I'd stumbled on the rhythm in these two lines. Maybe because of the word vegetable. If that could be tightened, the poem is perfect.


----------



## Firemajic (Oct 25, 2011)

Only one so clever could write a poem about a cutting board---murdered veggies, and have the reader empathetic toward inanimate objects! Well done! peace...Jul
 OH--BTW---I am going to treat my cutting board with alot  more R.S.E.P.E.C.T....


----------



## Gumby (Oct 25, 2011)

The life of a lowly cutting board has never been so well empathized.  Loved it!


----------



## aj47 (Oct 25, 2011)

Thank you all.  Petunia, I say "VEJ-tuh-buhls" and that may be why you're having issues.


----------



## Ravel (Oct 25, 2011)

Great .... nicely sliced and diced. Beautifully balanced and witty indeed. Love the bleeding tomatoes and crying onions. 

I am assuming "thunks" is also Texan ! (I didn't find it in the OED)

It reminds me of a song by The Beautiful South called Table > The Table Lyrics by The Beautiful SouthAnd isn't there some fable or story about the pain and bloodshed of wheat being harvested?


----------



## aj47 (Oct 25, 2011)

I don't know what "thunks"is other than onomatopoeia.  I read the lyrics and yes, I see why you were reminded of it.

Thank you.


----------



## ChicagoHeart (Oct 25, 2011)

brilliantly funny


----------



## Nellie (Oct 26, 2011)

Nicely written poem about a solemn cutting board. Very clever as it reminds us of what the wood could have been used for. Thanks for the wonderful insight.


----------



## JoeSmo (Oct 26, 2011)

Well done!  Let’s just hope no vegetarians read this. Ha


----------



## Ravel (Oct 30, 2011)

PS - The average kitchen chopping board has 200% more faecal bacteria on it than the average toilet seat (Guardian 24 October 2011). Therefore . . . .


----------



## aj47 (Oct 30, 2011)

That would be the average *plastic* cutting board.  I remember reading a study on cutting board cleaning methods where the researchers said that they were unable to get good samples of live bacteria off wooden cutting boards for the purposes of counting them.  It was theorized that the wood itself was acting as an anti-bacterial.  Since then I only use wooden cutting boards, hahaha.


----------



## Ravel (Oct 30, 2011)

well the picture looks very tree-like - Latest US and world news, sport and comment from the Guardian | guardiannews.com | The Guardianbut maybe it is the science which is wooden - http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iafp/jfp/1994/00000057/00000001/art00003

so much for the science . . .  back to the poetry . .


----------



## unsunghero (Nov 14, 2011)

Well played - I loved how you described the vegetables pain, and also I didnt think it was a cutting board until the end, so that keep the reader engaged in the poem.

Good job


----------

