Self-Portrait with Umeboshi
Our resemblance strengthens each day.
Reddened by sun and shiso,
seasoned with salt,
we preside, finding
comfort in failure. Or does
the subjugation of one’s flavor for another’s
define defeat? The bitter, the sour, the sweet
attract and repel
like lovers separated by distances
too subtle to see.
Filling space becomes the end.
What do you learn when you look through the glass?
Knowing my fate, I say fallen. I say earth.
Ah, simplicity! When I was a child my mother would occasionally serve rice balls in which a single mouth-puckering umeboshi rested at the center. These have long been a favorite, but I admit that umeboshi might be an acquired taste. Commonly called “pickled plums,” ume aren’t really plums but are more closely related to apricots. I cherish them.
“Self-Portrait with Umeboshi” first appeared in the Silver Birch Press Self-Portrait Series (August 2014), was included in the subsequent print anthology, Self-Portrait Poetry Collection, and also appears in my chapbook, If Your Matter Could Reform.
Music: “Senbazuru” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
O at the Edges 
“… does / the subjugation of one’s flavor for another’s / define defeat?” triggers an inner rebuttal: I’d say it defines transformation, a mix of loss and gain …
(Intriguing poem & love the recording.)
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I tend to agree with you, Jazz. On another note, I recently prepared this delicacy for Stephanie and Matt, and they seemed to enjoy it. 🙂
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While not something I’d choose daily or weekly, a little umeboshi jostles taste sensations in a delightful way. (Half a jar in the fridge! Maybe tonight …)
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It’s not for everyone! Steph had eaten it before, but Matt hadn’t. I was pleasantly surprised that the rice balls disappeared so quickly.
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Reblogged this on On My Feet.
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Thanks so much for reblogging!
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Umeboshi are delish!
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Yes! Though a few friends and my sister might not agree…
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It creates the greatest pucker!
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It does, indeed!
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The entire penultimate stanza! Love the economy of words and the ocean they point to, in between.
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I lived there for years…
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Yes. I have too but for shorter periods and it was a long long time ago. “Looking through the glass” led me to writing poems at least.
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It took me a while to figure out what I was seeing in/through the glass. 🙂
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I love the depth and simplicity of this poem and the voice both written and spoken.
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You are very generous. Thank you!
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