Ten Poems about Tea Review

This is a Crumbs to Crunch first, today we are going to talk about poetry. Recently, I came across a little booklet called Ten Poems about Tea that explores how a simple brew can affect our lives such as inspiring love, memory and comfort.

The collection begins with Carol Ann Duffy's poem Tea where Duffy makes tea for her lover. I particularly liked this line:

I like the questions - sugar? milk?-

This seemingly simple question creates a certain amount of intimacy as she learns something personal about her partner. Making tea becomes a gesture of her love and devotion and she is willing to do this 'any time of day'.

In Thomas Hardy's At Tea love plays a different role. A married couple invite a lady for tea. Over a steaming cup of tea, the husband reflects on how their guest was the one that got away.

The guest sits smiling and sips her tea,

And he throws a stray glance yearningly.

Instead of tea creating intimacy, in this scene, tea stirs memories of love. However the stiff etiquette of tea parties also creates distance between the man and his love.

Memory is also explored in Lessons in Teamaking by Kenny Knight. The protagonist finds refuge from everyday life in a cuppa:

another cup of microcosm

while outside the universe blazed

In this quiet moment of self-reflection, tea prompts memories of his father.

Tea represents vitality in Jo Shapcott's Procedure where the author is very ill but gains pleasure from still being able to drink tea.

say thank you thank you thank you for then, and now

As most British people know, if there is any kind of crisis, someone will inevitably pop the kettle on. A cup of tea is a reassuring constant in British society. This curious mentality is proclaimed in Alternative Anthem by John Agard.

Put the kettle on

Put the kettle on

It is the British answer 

to Armageddon.

This collection of poems is a fascinating incite into the potency of tea: it can comfort people, it can awaken memories and it can inspire love.

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