Peas and U's

"For homework this week I want you to write
a humous poem" said the English teacher.
Now I like to think of myself as quite
a willing student
But, hmmm, I thought,
a humous poem?
what a curious course feature.
Still, she must know what she is doing
and I didn't like to ask
so I threw myself headlong
into this poetically challenging task.

What was there to say about ...humous?
Well, I sat and thought a while,
chewed on my pencil,
and finally I began to smile
when I came up with what I believed a very original slant
I know! I could turn it into a love chant!
(or cant)
I could write about how we would share it,
the humous,
the two of us,
you and me
devouring pureed chickpea,
romantically.

And then I remembered there is no you, no us
to share my pot of humous.
You left me;
you are gone.
In preparation for this poem
I will have to sample mashed chickpea
all alone.

So here's the poem I wrote instead
full of gastronomical
and historical
facts
about humous -low in saturated fats.

The main ingredient of the humous recipe,
chickpea,
has been cultivated for around 7000 years.
And I cried just as many tears.
It comes from the Middle Eastern lands.
I just need to understand
To the chickpeas add some seasoning.
You must have had your reasoning
Garlic, lemon, olive oil, then blend.
of why it had to end.
Serve with warm pitta bread,
I don't want to think of you with a bitter head.
Some people aren't keen
on humous or chickpeas
or to give them their proper name
garbanzo beans.
Is it me to blame?

And there I finished my rhyme
and took it, as pleased as punch,
to show the teacher that I managed to write a poem
about something you just have for lunch.

Imagine my embarassment
when I found
I had heard
the wrong word
and thought the wrong sound.
She hadn't said humous
but humourous.
And the u
in humous is pronounced
as that in unloved
and not as in you.

I felt, at that moment,
great empathy
with a crushed chickpea.