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Gouda To Put You In The Mooda

Sue Stephens

When you hold a poetry contest involving themes of love or attraction, expect lots of poems using food as a metaphor.

It's as if our attraction to a potential mate and our appetite for food occupy the same place in our brains.

Small wonder, then, that two of the six winners in our "Relationship Poems" contest involved food. Yesterday, we featured a poem about corned beef. Today's winner is called "A Cheesy Love Poem."

"The title lets us know right away that the writer doesn't intend to take all of this too seriously," says contest judge Susan Porterfield, a poet and Rockford University professor.

"But then -- surprise -- the poem actually is a sonnet and actually about cheese," Porterfield says. "And it's about how he loves, or craves, this woman. He loves cheese, he loves this woman. Why not put the two together?"

For Porterfield, the clincher was the author's clever use of rhyme: "Gouda" and "mooda." She talks more about the poem's merits in the link below:

SplainerCheezyPoem_01.mp3
Susan Porterfield introduces "A Cheesy Love Poem."

The poem was written by Christopher Sheehan-Jago who, at 17, is the youngest of our winners. The DeKalb High School junior came to our studios to record his poem, which you can hear -- and read -- below:

CheezyPoem2_01.mp3
Christopher Sheehan-Jago reads "A Cheesy Love Poem."

A Cheesy Love Poem

There are some who call me cheesy, I guess this is the proof. A girl who smells of sweet cheddar, and with eyes like Maytag Blue. This girl’s looks are so gouda, I want to take her home. She puts me in the mooda, to share some provolone. For such a dove my heart hurts, she must indeed be holy. I want her like I want curds, made of perfect Aged Colby. If I ever left, it’d be My Princess that I miss, well her, and my big block of Swiss.

Our next winner is a poem that uses winter hibernation as a backdrop for intimacy. We'll reveal it tomorrow during Morning Edition. Listen at 6:44 and 8:44. Then come back here to read the text and hear another podcast reading. We welcome your comments below.

Good morning, Early Riser! Since 1997 I've been waking WNIJ listeners with the latest news, weather, and program information with the goal of seamlessly weaving this content into NPR's Morning Edition.
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