Memories Sweet, Reality Sour?
Was the cake really as good as you remember?
Eggs, sugar, butter, flour
Always sweet, never sour
Plain, dusted, or dripping with frosting
Soft, fluffy, decadent, and comforting
Served with coffee or tea
Oh how it takes me back
To simpler, easier times
Or that's how it seems
Looking back is funny like that
Don't you think?
Rose-tinted glasses and all that
Was the cake as good as you remember it?
The past is a foreign country
Where everything seems better for some
Worse for others
If we could go back and taste that cake
Would it be as sweet as we think?
Would it be tinged with bitterness?
Would it stir up the memories we hide?
Would it rouse the emotions we lock away?
Eggs, sugar, butter, flour
Memories sweet, reality sour?
*
Thanks for reading. I've published quite a few food-related poems recently. So, this is another one and probably last for a while. Took a different approach.
If you enjoyed it or want to leave some feedback, please click the heart, leave a comment or both. You can also subscribe.
I appreciate all feedback and interactions.
If you have the time and inclination, here are some other pieces you might enjoy:
You can also take a look at the rest of my work here.
About the Creator
Paul Stewart
Award-Winning Writer, Poet, Scottish-Italian, Subversive.
The Accidental Poet - Poetry Collection out now!
Streams and Scratches in My Mind coming soon!
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
On-point and relevant
Writing reflected the title & theme
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
Expert insights and opinions
Arguments were carefully researched and presented
Eye opening
Niche topic & fresh perspectives
Keep reading
More stories from Paul Stewart and writers in Poets and other communities.
Comments (24)
I can relate to the bittersweet nature of memories. They can bring both joy and pain, but they're a precious part of our human experience.
So nostalgic. Congrats. you are all that and a pinch of sugar.
Oh, I enjoyed this one and I will follow up with a video game quote: "The cake is a lie!" 😄. Congratulations on Top Story!
I absolutely love this! A perfect metaphor for the danger of nostalgia. If we misremember the past, we get stuck there, never learning from it or moving on.
ooh this is beautiful! This line is very well done "The past is a foreign country"
You are a great poet, really captured the essence of such simple ingredients..Eggs, sugar, butter, flour and great juxtaposed with memories sweet, reality sour?
Congrats on Top Story!
Love it! I really sometimes we look at the past with rose tinted glasses. Love this comparison to cake. Well done and Congratulations on Top Story 👏 ❤️
Yayyy. congrats on the Top Story
Ohhh love it! Congratulations on top story! It’s well deserved
Congratulations on your Top Story
It’s so rarely as sweet. Better to remember it that way though! Congrats on the top story!!
Congratulations on Top Story!!!
Food is so much a part of memories! And yeah, we may remember some food, like memories, as being better than they actually were. Great sensory images have everyone craving something sweet now!
Awesome work! loved the cadence and basically everything about this piece! 😁BRAVO! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Should we start calling you the food man? Good job! I really enjoyed this one!
Never expected this to provoke my thoughts. My life has been all sour with a tiny bit of accidental sweetness here and there. Loved your poem!
This is yummy. and yes, it was as sweet as I remember, especially if my Nan made it.
I love you food-related poems! This one again has me crazing sweet stuff. I really liked the structure if this and the way you ended it was quite clever. Awesome! ☺️
You insist on making me hungry, lol! I really liked the format you used and how it progressed from simple to more complex and then questioning the simple at the end. Our emotions really have so much to do with how we remember history. Great work!
A great poetic commentary on how we often don't see 20/20 until it's in hindsight.
Sweet 🥰
Coffee for me please, only cream, I’ll get my sugar from the cake, very nice buddy, you insist on making me hit Dunkin Donuts , don’t you 😂😂
The descriptions on this are so thoughtful and full of life. I loved this read!