The Marriage of Apple and Cheese

I wash an apple under cold water;
drops pearl on its blush like sweat on summer
skin, releasing a burst of green scent.
I let it dry while cutting slices from a block
of tangy, mature Cheddar cheese, redolent
with the laziness of cows, and then pierce
the heart of the orb, cut it into eighths,
and place them with the cheese upon a plate.

They are about to fall in love.

An apple is an apple, but it breathes happiness
with undertones of autumn’s sweet earthiness,
the echo of a blackbird in the dapples of a tree,
when married to the creamy sharpness of cheese.

Kim M. Russell, 20th August 2024

Floris van Dyck, Still Life with Fruit, Nuts and Cheese, 1613, Frans Hals Museum, Netherlands

For this Tuesday’s Poetics at the dVerse Poets Pub we are exploring the senses in food poetry with Sanaa, who says that there is something about a good food poem that gets her going especially when Li Young Lee writes about Persimmons. She would like to know what are some of our favorite foods, and why.

Sanaa says that “writing about food can be a sensory experience that engages all five senses” and that “by exploring various aspects of food, writers can create vivid descriptions that transport readers to the world of the dish”. She illustrates this with poems by Bill Holm, Pablo Neruda, Wallace Stevens and Craig Arnold.

Our challenge is to explore at least one of the five senses in food poetry. It can be the taste, the texture of a dish or its aroma that fills the kitchen. It can be an experience we had while cooking for the first time. My poem is about a simple lunch that I enjoy.

35 thoughts on “The Marriage of Apple and Cheese”

  1. This is absolutely gorgeous writing here, Kim 😍 I especially love; “An apple is an apple, but it breathes happiness with undertones of autumn’s sweet earthiness.” Yes! Thank you so much for writing to the prompt 🩷🩷

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  2. We had a saying in the wine trade, buy on apples, sell on cheese. One picks out the flaws, the other the qualities. In Yorkshire at school we used to be served Wensleydale cheese with apple pie. Delicious!

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    1. Thank you, Merril. That’s my favourite lunchtime treat. I’ve also rediscovered stewed apples with cinnamon and raisins, which I have on low-sugar granola and low-fat Greek style yogurt. Luckily we have a tree full of cooking apples!

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  4. ooooh this is delectable! For me, these words were magical: “a block
    of tangy, mature Cheddar cheese, redolent with the laziness of cows” Such fabulous detail and imagery that please the senses here.

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  18. Ah, a marriage made in culinary heaven! This was so wonderful Kim. I loved this …

    the echo of a blackbird in the dapples of a tree,
    when married to the creamy sharpness of cheese.

    Apples and cheese are a particular favorite of mine ☺️

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