Food and Beverage: Three Sonnets by Nicole Tallman
Sonnet for my Grandma’s Cake
I’m craving that lemon pineapple
upside down cake
my Grandma Gladys used to make
me every year for my birthday
before she died. No more birthday
cake or just-because cake,
sometimes confetti cake
or German chocolate
or strawberry cake
like my Strawberry Shortcake
doll, but never store-bought cake
and always the perfect cake
to match my dress or my doll cake—
a perfect confection of her love.
Sonnet for Caviar
Here I go again being extra,
but I love caviar. The red roe,
the gold, and the black. Is this
even a sonnet? Oh, we’re not starting
that discourse again. We’re just
going to talk caviar, which isn’t
nearly as controversial as talking sonnets,
or nepo babies. How can a non-nepo poet
afford caviar? It’s certainly not
from book sales or performance
art. Yes, I too, have that side hustle,
which, let’s be real, is my main job
because poetry rarely pays enough for rent or caviar.
Sonnet for Champagne
My three favorite words are
Chartreuse, Chambord, and Champagne,
and maybe I’m bougie
or maybe I’m just French
because I like sh sounds,
like the verb chuchoter,
which means whisper, just like
it sounds. I also love on·o·mat·o·poe·ia
and the gay way
bubbles in champagne are like
whispers, but also screams,
bubbling up under pressure,
and how a popping cork will always
be the sound of a good party.
About Nicole Tallman
Nicole Tallman is a gay poet. She is pro tacos & drag shows, & anti book bans & gay hate. She is a Cancer sun, Virgo moon, & Taurus rising. She lives in Miami, where she serves as the official Poetry Ambassador, Editor of Redacted Books, & Poetry Editor for South Florida Poetry Journal & The Blue Mountain Review. She is the author of four collections: Something Kindred, Poems for the People, FERSACE, & Julie, or Sylvia (her first novel, out now!). Find her on social media @natallman & at nicoletallman.com.
