Allan Scherlen was born in San Antonio and is a librarian at Appalachian State University in the mountains of North Carolina. He travelled extensively
through China and Mexico and is a lifelong poet. He has recently been published by Vermilion, Progenitor, new words, Axahares, and Hong Kong Review.

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Kinnell Is Serving Oatmeal

In his poem, “Oatmeal,” Galway Kinnell
shares his joy of this grain for breakfast.
He advocates we invite imaginary companions
– dead poets – to breakfast, thus creating
a truly beneficial morning experience.

I generally don’t have enough time in the
morning to make oatmeal, let alone for
guests to partake. Cooking on the stove,
while pressed for time, is challenging;

not to mention the added chore of cleaning
a dirty pot that will become encrusted
if not rinsed. I’ll pass.

So, no invitation to imaginary poets
for oatmeal in the morning.
I know there’s a lot to learn from imaging
a conversation with Spenser and Milton.

But I’d feel compelled to do some homework
the night before, reviewing their work and literary criticism
about them. And then getting up early to cook.
No, I’ll pass.

To confess, on a leisurely morning
with lots of time, I’d prefer scrambled eggs
with biscuits, (not from scratch, but from
dough popped out of a tube).

I’d invite, as my preferred imaginary companions,
musicians – like Hendrix or Coltrane –
to enjoy a breakfast spread. They can
be interesting dudes, worthy of an imaginary talk.

But for now, being a regular day,
I’ll pass on oatmeal –
and have a coffee as usual.

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Galway Kinnell Reading ‘Oatmeal’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Xv8EY2vWJg

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