[the Writing of Kuypers] [JanetKuypers.com] [Bio] [Poems] [Prose]

you’ll like them

mom was always cooking things, eating the
strangest things, and trying to convince us to
try them. just because she likes hot peppers
or pickled beets or pigs’ feet or oysters
doesn’t mean we do. so once mom cooked some
garbanzo beans, wanted me to try them. “you’ll
like them, they’re low in fat.” no, thank you,
mom, i’m not hungry. “but they taste just like
peanuts.” no, thanks, mom, i’m really not
hungry.
“they taste just like peanuts.”
sandy and i start a conversation.
“just like peanuts,” we hear her say again
from the kitchen. i start to laugh. she’s still
in there, trying to convince me to eat these
things, and she just keeps repeating that they
taste just like peanuts, in that cute little
high-pitched squeak of hers. “just like peanuts.”

“do they taste just like peanuts?” i asked.
they were soft and mushy. nothing like
peanuts. nothing at all.