I Am Talking

To You

poetry by Madelief Lammers

‘02 STAR 06’, sculpture by kugutsu, @kugutsunft. Used with permission of the artist.

I

Yesterday’s dinner had the structure of my tongue.
With every bite I was confused -
my teeth felt like they bit my tongue while
my tongue felt like they didn’t.
After a while some fears came over me:

/Fear that my tongue was paralyzed and I had all the time been biting it
/Fear that very soon I would actually bite my tongue, as my teeth couldn’t feel the difference between tongue and food.

It was a very unpleasant dinner.
This is how it’s made:

\Take a pot that you would use for rice. Pour in some oil and heat it.
\Add onion and garlic and chili pepper.
\Add a cup of rice and a bit of pepper and salt.
\Add a tomato and a little bit of spinach.

Make sure nothing gets stuck to the bottom of the pot.

\Add vegetarian fake meat. I cannot remember the word for this type of meat; it is very brown and if it were real meat, some people would mix it with an egg before cooking. Also, if it were real meat, it could consist of cow, or pig, or half cow, half pig. You take the vegetarian version of this meat and throw it in the pot with all the other stuff that isn’t sticking to the bottom.
\Some people don’t like this type of fake meat.
As an alternative, you can also add your tongue.
As an alternative, you can also add the tongue of someone you hate to bits.
As an alternative, you can also add the tongue of someone you love but wish would stop talking.
(Be careful: they might stop talking, but they might not stop screaming.)
\Add two cups of water and cook the whole thing until it looks and tastes ready. You can judge its readiness by its structure. It should be tongue-like. It won’t be nice.

II

I am talking to you
I am talking to you
I am talking to you
I am talking to you
I am talking to you
I am talking to you
I am talking to you
I am talking to you
I am talking to you
I am talking to you
I am talking to you
I am talking to you
I am talking to you
I am talking to you
I am talking to you
I am talking to you
I am saying words
I am moving my mouth
I am raising my voice
I am changing my volume
I am changing it back
I am talking to you
I am talking to you
What does it mean?

III

I talked to you – I still do.
I did not bite my tongue,
I added it as an alternative.
Am I someone I hate?
Am I someone I love but wish would stop talking?
Will I ever stop screaming?

Add a tomato and a little bit of spinach.

🥩👅