dash
Dodo Stoofpot

(a 17th century recipe for disaster
from a Dutch sailor’s diary)

dodo

Pluck the plumage. Brine the game.
Souse the rump and score the breast.
Stoke the embers. Fan the flame.
Spritz the flesh with lemon zest.
Season with a feather hand –
Flightless fowls are never bland.

Bubble oil till Hades-hot.
Bone and bind. When stuffed and trussed,
Sizzle in the smoking pot.
Sear the skin to form a crust.
Braise and baste this lush, nutritious,
Moreish manna from Mauritius.

Glaze it with a splash of this.
Garnish with a sprig of that.
Serve it in a jus of bliss.
Shoo away the galley cat.
Feast and quaff and feast some more –
This island’s rife with birds galore!


Susan Jarvis Bryant

If you have any thoughts about this poem, Susan Jarvis Bryant   would be pleased to hear them

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