beatae memoriae

Digging through my flash drive I found the portfolio from my first poetry workshop at the good old undergraduate program at Hunter. Here's a painful sample...

12-31-2007


Poem

The wisest people in the history of the world
were prostitutes--
who pondered nothing but the flesh,
who contemplated its soft biology and all aspects
of science—the materialism of weight
the stoicism of death
and rotting.
Who accepted meat
as everyday bread,
Who added no redundant philosophy or prudence.
Who were not insulting the audacity of the body,
Who felt the revealed flesh ,
Who tasted the bread,
Who first put it in their mouths.

Is this not
the best of religions--
acknowledging flesh
with no incenses
searching for imaginary
love

The view from my window

Cafetasia (Greenwich Village)

The Greenwich Village incarnation (or is this the original location?) of Cafetasia is louder, busier and full of drunken teenagers celebrating their birthdays over a flaming ball of fried ice-cream to the sound of the obvious song blasted from speakers, and performed apparently by a chef who’s simultaneously singing Happy Birthday and chopping off his fingers while attempting to chop bamboo. Human meat or not though, the Pad Thai is absolutely orgasmic, with the noodles thinner than usual and a delish lemony flavor that goes surprisingly well with eggs, cashews, chicken and bean sprouts. And yes, the fried ice-cream. Yum. Though it takes two to eat them (not the size—the slipperiness). Same gratification, less calf muscle.

No $4-wine, alas (it’s $5). No bedbugs detected thus far.

CAFETASIA - restaurant

Cafetasia (East Village)
85 Avenue A
(bet E. 5th & 6th Street)
New York, NY 10009
Tel.212-260-8570

Sadly, there’s nothing bad I can say about Cafetasia. Not only is the food tasty and affordable and the drink list long and even more affordable but they give you little cards to collect stamps every time you spend $10. Six gets you a free meal. It reminds me some coffee shops. And rightly so, because even decor-wise Cafetasia aims at a fusion of a bostro / cafe with a trendy lounge (dim lights, little table, slick minimalism and the Asian (elements of bamboo motif and an elephant wallpaper). The food is as noveau-East-Asian as the slick decor. The pan Asian menu (how I hate thatlabel for some reason) offers many choices of small, large and really large dishes—all in a brain-numbing range of $4 - $14. The brunch menu is also available with treats like the crispy flounder with honey-teriyaki sauce ($9). (As for drinks, it’s the $4 house wine for me. And nope, it’s not a happy hour). Apparently a friend of mine has tried every single dish on the menu (and there’s plenty), and she claims every single one is good. That I still need to check. But I will surely be back to get those stamps. I still need to check out their Greenwich Village location to find something to complain about. Though, alas, unless I stumble into NYU students, I might not succeed.