LJI Idol Season 8 - Week 6: Seussian Squash
This is my entry this week for therealljidol. I invite you to read and vote for the many fine entries. This week's topic is "Food Memory."
The finicky protagonist looks askance at squash.
I am ten.
Ten I am.
Ten I am. Awkward, chubby 10.
I do not like being 10.
Do you like
squash? asks my Mom.
I do not like it.
I am ten.
I do not like it, I say again.
Would you like it
for dinner or lunch?
I would not like it
for dinner or lunch.
I would not like it
for breakfast or brunch.
I do not like squash,
I say again.
I do not like it.
Ten I am.
Would you like it
in a scoop?
Would you like it
in a soup?
I do not like it
in a scoop.
I do not like it
in a soup.
I do not like it
for dinner or lunch.
I do not like it
for breakfast or brunch.
I do not like it, I say again.
I do not like it. Ten I am.
Would you eat it
in lasagna?
Would you eat it
with your friend Tonya?
Not in lasagna.
Not with Tonya.
Not in a scoop.
Not in soup.
I would not eat it for dinner or lunch.
I would not eat it for breakfast or brunch.
I would not eat squash, I say again.
I do not like it. Ten I am.
Would you? Could you?
with Cheez Whiz?
Eat it! Eat it!
Here it is.
I would not,
could not,
with Cheez Whiz.
You may like it.
You will see.
You may like it
with some peas.
I would not, could not with some peas.
Not with Cheez Whiz. Not now, please.
I do not like it in lasagna.
I do not like it with friend Tonya.
I do not like it in a scoop.
I do not like it in a soup.
I do not like it for dinner or lunch.
I do not like it for breakfast or brunch.
I do not like squash, I say again.
I do not like it. Ten I am.
You do not like it.
So you say.
Try it! Try it!
And you may.
Try it and you may I say.
Mom!
If you will let me be,
I will try it.
You will see.
Say!
It's smooth and mild, like a pumpkin!
I have been a silly bumpkin.
Buttery sweet, so nice to eat.
I'd even eat this with a beet.
I do!! I like it, and I am ten!
So I will eat it in lasagna.
And I will eat it with friend Tonya.
And I will eat it in a scoop.
And I will eat it in a soup.
And I will eat it for dinner or lunch.
Say! I will eat it for breakfast and brunch!
I do so like
squash, I say again!
Thank you!
Thank you.
I'm glad I'm ten.
Three decades later,
the dinner calm
is interrupted
by a squash bomb.
Propelled by baby
whose tiny palm
is smeared with orange.
Now, I am Mom.
Note: It was actually my brother who disliked squash. My mom tried all sorts of creative methods for hiding it in food, but he always knew. Today, he loves squash. My baby, when he will deign to put it in his mouth, likes it quite a bit, too. I'm beginning to believe, like my brother claims, that toddlers absorb nutrition through the food they smear on their clothes and hair.
