Sun Kissed Days

Sun Kissed Days

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Food For The Soul




The alley is filled with the fragrant aromas
of sour, sweet and salty.
The smells a silent invitation.
The streets of Bangkok,
filled with mystery,
and magic of the unknown.
A small market, stacked with canned soups,
a quick fix to a tired soul.
His thoughts wander home,
mom dices the potatoes,
shreds carrots,
hovers and tastes,
recreates a soup his grandmother
made him as a boy.
A world away he thinks of the past,
and the present.
His eyes feast at the colors
of red and green curry to soothe the soul.
Jasmine rice,
dishes mixed with
sweet and spicy,
just the way life should be.


This photo is a part of a prompt of http://magpietales.blogspot.com/ When I saw the photograph I thought of how much my son Josh loves my soup. It's a potato soup that my mom used to make for him when he was a child. Then I thought about today, he is 26 and a grown man. Today he left to Thailand on a medical mission. My thoughts are with him, and I feel so proud of him.

34 comments:

  1. life def has the layers, like flavors in food...and far from home the mind and the stomach often wanders to the food back home for sure...

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    1. We love new adventures but we always long for that home feel.....

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  2. Now I can comment. I do like the asian flavors in your words...definitely more tasty than just "canned" soup.

    And so you should be...a fine son you have raised.

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  3. Wow...you really took me some place else with this!
    Delicious!
    :)

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  4. It all sounds very tasty. I'm sure your son will miss all of his favourite foods while he is away.
    You must feel so very proud of him, and rightly so.
    A lovely use of the prompt too.

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  5. Truly form to life, sure it is tasty too.

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  6. Food is so connected to home isn't it?

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  7. My thoughts with you and your son. So much of my memories of home are through food. Jasmine rice was one of my father's favorites.

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    1. Thank you, Rudri. I smiled that your one of your father's favorites was Jasmine rice :) I know how much you miss him xo

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  8. ayala Ma'am,
    He'll certainly miss your special soup, that I'm sure! But not to worry. There's tom yam, the Thai spicy soup and other varieties to whet his appetite! Great write to the prompt!

    Hank

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    1. Hank, so true..there are many wonderful foods in Thailand ..I just played with the thought that he would miss home. I hope he is having a blast. Thank you :)

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  9. Your words are tastier than any tin of soup... :)

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  10. food can carry lots of memories and warmth...and there are certain dishes that transport me right back to childhood...really can feel this...and you can be so proud of your son

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    1. Thank you, Claudia :) I am so proud of him...

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  11. Your beautiful memory of your son and the special soup you and your Mother made is food for my soul....He is on a medical mission....wow....that is such a blessing.....you certainly did feed his soul as well!

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    1. Carrie, your comment is just beautiful, thank you :)

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  12. beautiful Ayala...my grandmother made a wonderful potato soup and we watched her as children to learn how as she never wrote recipes down. I know that Josh will do wonderful things...make his matriarchs very proud indeed.

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    1. Thank you, Laura. Funny my mom used to say that she does it but feel and when I wanted an exact recipe she would tell me to watch :)

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  13. Always prefer homemade soups for the canned ones...nice.

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  14. 'sweet and spicy/ just the way life should be'

    What a perfect ending to a sweet and savory poem. Good one!

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  15. Smells and foods provoke amazing memory recall. You've woven the past, present and future together here elegantly. Time and memory are intertwined to paint a whole picture.Such a brave adventure he's undertaking. He'll be in my prayers for sure! I have very dear friends who did mission work in Bangkok 20 years ago - they loved their time there. Were forever changed by it.

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    1. Thank you, Adrienne. Last time he went to the Dominican Republic and he got to do some amazing things. :) Thanks for your kindness.

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  16. True soul food, ayala, both soup and poem. I wish your son safe travels :)

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    1. Thank you, dear Talon. I appreciate your good wishes.

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