Friday Food Writers: Li-Young Lee

I discovered Li-Young Lee in college, when I was obsessed with his second book The City In Which I Love You, the title poem of which still rings in my head on a regular basis (well, lines from it, anyway). He writes a lot about memory and family and Chinese culture, among other things. He also writes marvelously about food. I was tempted to put up his wonderful poem “Persimmons” here, but it’s long for a blog post, so I’ll just link you to it instead in case you’re interested. In the meantime, here’s another really lovely one from his first book, Rose, perfect for the season. I hope it both makes you hungry and brings you a moment of calm in the pre-holiday hustle.

 

Eating Together

In the steamer is the trout

seasoned with slivers of ginger,

two sprigs of green onion, and sesame oil.

We shall eat it with rice for lunch,

brothers, sister, my mother who will

taste the sweetest meat of the head,

holding it between her fingers

deftly, the way my father did

weeks ago. Then he lay down

to sleep like a snow-covered road

winding through pines older than him,

without any travelers, and lonely for no one.