Drink Me 6 May 2008
Posted by Baraka in Arts, BARAKA, Misc.trackback
This time she found a little bottle on it, (”which certainly was not here before,” said Alice,) and round the neck of the bottle was a paper label, with the words “DRINK ME” beautifully printed on it in large letters.
…so Alice ventured to taste it, and finding it very nice, (it had, in fact, a sort of mixed flavour of cherry-tart, custard, pine-apple, roast turkey, toffee, and hot buttered toast) she very soon finished it off.
“What a curious feeling!” said Alice; “I must be shutting up like a telescope.”
And so it was indeed: she was now only ten inches high…
- Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Alice’s adventures inspire me at the oddest moments. Drinking random elixirs, shrinking and expanding may very well be the best thing for you at that given moment, opening up worlds you never imagined possible.
The other day, it occurred to me to reflect upon what sort of drink I thought Basil was most like and to ask him, in turn, what he thought I was.
To me, he’s Cafe de Olla: A Oaxacan coffee so simply wonderful you don’t want to spoil it with cream or milk. It sits in a clay pot (the olla), bubbling and brewing with pure water, freshly ground coffee, cinnamon, and brown sugar (cloves/fresh orange rind are optional).
I rarely drink coffee, but this is my favorite, taste and memory intertwined: Standing outside in a crisp dawn full of beginnings by a Oaxacan roadside cafe, I filled my belly with a steaming medley of fragrance, flavor, and sensation.
You are like that day, my love, dawn clouds obscuring and then revealing the adventurous and unknown mountains ahead, the ground firm beneath my feet, belly full of warmth and sweetness.
When I asked Basil what he thought I was, he cast back to his pre-Islamic days. A 20-year old tawny port he called me – sweet, sharp, crisp, with a flavor that lingers on the tongue. Mellow, amber, and clear.
Makes me wonder what flavors, sensations, memories, fragrances, that others associate with their loved ones. It puts a whole new spin on dreaming about food and drink during the month of fasting and beyond.
- Originally published in Truth & Beauty
My husband would be brilliant pure ice-cold spring water … Sharp, clear, refreshing, rare as anything, and welcoming in all weather!
Mine is more like a cup of hot tea. Strong, desirable, makes my day and keeps me up all night… arouses my senses and wipes away any traces of stress.
My husband is horchata to me, he cools my senses like that first drink does, and he lifts my spirits like the flavor.
He is hot days drinking horchata for me.
Assalam-alaikam,
Oh wow, never thought about better half in this way before.
Strong, sensible but fun…mmm, that has to be masala chai.
Salaams Sis:
My husband is a cup of hot chocolate – dark Hershey chocolate reddish brown, hot, and satisfying!
Listerine, perhaps? Or unsweetened grapefruit juice. I could go on.
Simple, clean, refreshing, sustaining: water.
I’m not sure if I’m ready to ask my wife about my drink incarnate. Until I’m psychologically secure, this post brought to me mind Grace Slick’s song (Jefferson Airplane):
One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you
Don’t do anything at all
Go ask Alice
When she’s ten feet tall
And if you go chasing rabbits
And you know you’re going to fall
Tell them a hookah smoking caterpillar
has given you the call
Call Alice
When she was just small
When the men on the chess board
get up and tell you where to go
And you just had some kind of mushroom
And your mind is moving slow
Go ask Alice
I think she’ll know
When logic and proportion
Have fallen sloppy dead
And the white knight is talking backwards
And the Red Queen’s “Off with her head!”
Remember what the dormouse said
Feed your head
Feed your head
Salaams all,
Thank you – I loved everyone’s wonderful and creative interpretations (and the song, Ibrahim)!
Your answers got me thinking about other people in my life too – particularly family members. Perhaps I’ll share those some other time :)
Warmly,
Baraka
a cup of strong tetley tea with a sprinkle of cardemom and two teaspoons of sugar…gosh I sound around 80…brilliant post!.
My husband is like a big bottle of “old” olive oil- the type north africans take for “medicine”. At first glance and taste it is old but you reap the benefits later :)
Abu Farouq is a Dr. Pepper.
Cherry-sweet, enough of a burn, medicinal, soothing, and always a welcome sight.