I love making lists. Sometimes, most of the time, I do nothing with them. But this time, my list has become my poetry project for National Poetry Month. It’s perfect because there is one for every day of April, they are all simple things, and they make me happy.
day 2: steel-cut oatmeal with raisins
The no nonsense-ness of oatmeal
doubles down when it’s steel cut,
the coarse-ness is a luxury
of time and forethought.
A breakfast born of boiled
pieces takes patience
waiting for the inner kernel
to soak though and blossom to softness.
The whiteness in warm milk
accented by speckled sweetness
of black and golden raisins.
Sunday treat.
To Read To Write To Be 
I think this one also qualifies for “holding a warm cup of anything when I’m cold.” I, too, suffer from chronically cold hands, and besides making me hungry, this poem makes me want the warmth of the bowl in my hands!
This could be a month of things that make me warm!
It’s something I celebrate a winter day with every time, Julieanne. I love the idea of your project & this: “blossom to softness”.
Oatmeal is my husband’s winter breakfast of choice! I thought “speckled sweetness” was going to be brown sugar! I will love watching what you do with your list – and what a fabulous idea and connection from challenge to the next!
What a great project! Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
I am with Ruth!!! Your poem had so many clear images. Not to mention your Golden Shovel cold hands poem as well. (PS My daughter in law makes “over nigh oats” have you heard of those? The grandkids ages 2 1/2 and 5 love those. I think she warms the bowl a bit to take the chill off. Tops it with yogurt and berries and a splash of honey and maybe cinnamon. I love your list idea!!!
Janet Clare F.
Sounds delicious!! Thank you!
The ideas of no-nonsense being greater when steel-cut and coarseness being “a luxury” are so intriguing. Writing poems from a list of simple things that make you happy sounds perfect to me!
Yum and brava! Or, brava and yum. I do love steel cut oats. But, I like them soaked overnight. I’ve been forgetting to soak them lately. I think I’ll do that right now for dinner time! I actually love warm oatmeal at dinner time. What a great NPM project! The creativity in this community is infinite!
Steel-cut oats take planning! That’s part of what makes them special. So happy to be with you all this month.
Yum….sometimes that no-nonsense oats hits the spot.
Your middle stanza is bigger on the inside than it looks. Yum.
Ha! Yes it expands!
What a fun project you’ve chosen for the month. I like “a luxury of time and forethought.” I wonder how you find the time and then your last line reveals how – Sunday treat!
Thanks for sharing your process through this!
Julieanne, I’m not an oatmeal eater, but you make me want a bowl. How smart to make your list in advance and spend the month writing poems that bring happiness. You and I do have a very similar idea for making this month of poetry a delight.
Thank you Cathy. I find poetry one of the best ways to nurture small things, which in fact are so big!