Poetry Pleases: At The Supermarket Mother Says...
Marion McKeen's poem reveals that choosing marmalade can be a queasy business.
Marion writes for Bonzer! magazine. Please visit www.bonzer.org.au
At the Supermarket Mother says fetch a jar of marmalade
from the shelf,
Father says he is tired of strawberry jam.
No, not that one, that is golden ball marmalade and it is too fine.
Father likes his marmalade thick.
No, not that one either. It’s still not thick enough.
Now I thought that one might do but it is just too coarse.
And the next one is not orange marmalade but lime and
such a bilious shade of green
that it would clash with the curtains! Try another shelf.
This one has just the right consistency, thick cut the way
Father likes it.
But it is such a horrible colour it makes me feel quite nauseous to look at it.
And if it was sitting on the breakfast table each morning I would have to
take a pill and go back to bed to make me feel better,
and there would be no one to do the housework or make the dinners so
just put that jar back on the shelf and fetch me some strawberry jam.
It looks so cheerful in the jam dish
and besides it matches the pots and pans.
© Marion McKeen
