“Yume Wo Katare” (Tell your dream)

At this local noodle soup shop,
arriving at the bottom of your bowl,
you must stand and tell your dream
to everyone. The chef is godlike
with stock, with bringing water
to boil. He strikes fever to a line
of six metal pots. He ferries
scorching steam to a safe haven.
Some patrons have to tie their
hair back. Everyone lowers
their face to their own big bowl, to hot,
thick pork slices, swell of ramen,
heap of mung bean sprouts, aroma
of garlic and salt that all of us will take
to bed. Twirling long noodles
brings forth a tattoo on the underside
of a girl’s forearm: This is the year.
There’s collective blowing, chewing
and swallowing; we drink bone
broth together. Which dreams
do strangers tell each other?

 

About the Poet:
Marjorie Thomsen holds a master’s degree in social work from Catholic University in Washington, DC. Her poems have won awards from the New England Poetry Club and the University of Iowa School of Social Work. Pretty Things Please, her first collection of poetry, will be published in 2016 (WordTech Editions). Marjorie lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska.

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