I love this poem by Marcus Jackson because it brings back my childhood in a powerful way. I remember mixing up the Tupperware pitcher of Kool-Aid in various kitchens in various houses where we lived. The little cloud of color at the bottom of the plastic cylinder (and how different was my view of plastic back then, before the stuff was choking our planet), my "healthy" version of the recipe where I added only 3/4 cup of sugar instead of a full cup (see the word "unsweetened" on the package), the brightly-colored mustaches on myself and my brothers after our tumblers of Kool-Aid, consumed with a cookie or two.
Ode to Kool-Aid
Marcus Jackson
You turn the kitchen
tap's metallic stream
into tropical drink,
extra sugar whirlpooling
to the pitcher-bottom
like gypsum sand.
Purplesaurus Rex, Roarin'
Rock-A-Dile Red, Ice Blue
Island Twist, Sharkleberry Fin;
...
We need factory-crafted packets
unpronounceable ingredients,
a logo cute enough to hug,
a drink unnaturally sweet...
Here's the rest.
Kathryn Apel has the roundup this week.
9 comments:
Your post and this poem sure takes takes me back about 50 decades!
Kool aid has many uses.
I recently purchased some good quality wool at a bargain. The colour was blah so I decided to dye it before making something for my daughter in law. I used kool aid to dye it grape juice purple. The colour is gorgeous, although it was a challenge to get the scent out!
I love reading Cheriee's use, too. We used to dye Easter eggs with Kool-Aid, loved learning how to mix different colors. It is a wonderful poem, Ruth! Love that "a logo cute enough to hug". Thanks!
Ha! What's so funny is that I could taste the flavors as I read them. What a wonderful poem that really does take you back to something I didn't even know I had forgotten.
Well, I must be REALLY old because I don't remember Kool-Aid having such creative names!
We just had plain old cherry, grape, orange, etc. Not this fancy stuff kids have today! : )
Your post brought back memories of my own Kool-Aid days.
Oh, this brings back so many memories--from the tupperware pitchers to the bright mustaches. What a fun poem. My kid won't have those memories, since I never made once I grew up. Poor thing was stuck with water or milk or juice as a kid.
I remember Kool-Aid, but as Linda, said, without the fancy names! We mostly drank Zarex in Maine in the 1950s - syrup in a cute jug which had to be mixed with water. I'm sure it was equally as sugary. But I never knew girls to dye hair with Kool-Aid! Thanks, Ruth.
Kool Aid was such a treat in the summertime. I loved the appearance of Granddad at the end of the poem.
The Kool-Aid poem takes me back just like everyone is saying. Who could believe that we drank that sugary stuff? I agree that the ending is good. I did not expect those last lines. Thank, Ruth, for bringing back my childhood memories.
I remember my mom making Kool Aid popsicles, which were delicious, and I remember someone coloring her hair with it. I remember the cuddly logo. It feels like very long ago, but Kool Aid seems to still be very much a thing. Apparently you can deep fry it (as a sort of donut)!
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