I’m afraid of coriander. Truly scared of a leaf. It looks so very innocent; beware what lurks beneath. What makes it so dangerous is that it will befriend, the cook and chef and dinner host on whom it doth depend. Persuading them to let it play, in soup or stew or dish, that presently will find its way to bowl and spoon and table.
I’m afraid of coriander, I dine in trepidation; ordering quite anxiously, with fear and hesitation. I worry that my food might yet become infected, with a leafy smattering, a soapy taste injected. I wonder why you’d do it, I know no explanation, but indeed it’s commonplace, this vexing infestation.
It is in my opinion quite irreverential, to take a dish that hitherto had really great potential. To take good food and add this leaf; though slightly crude, tis my belief, the more you add, the worse it gets, in manner exponential. A dish that could have danced around my mouth and caused delight, a dish that might have tasted right, if allowed to stay unaltered; Coriander makes inedible, tis not worth its leafy weight; what previously was credible lies useless on the plate.
Copyright Phyllida Alexander 14th September 2021
This belongs to an upcoming assignment, hence in Swedish. It will cease to be musically pleasing if translated but basically says :
"Coffee is more dangerous than it looks and is not to be trusted - watch out!"
Till varje kaffedrickare
En varning måste jag ge
Kaffe är mycket farligare
Än vad du kanske ser
En liten kaffeböna
Är inte utan skuld
Den låtsas bara att vara så skön
Som en liten kopp av guld
Men se upp för kaffe
Om du inte känner igen
Din vana, för vad den är
Kaffe är inte din vän
Copyright Phyllida Alexander 14th October 2021