21 | "Poetry is a Mojito!" [pantoum]

Mince the words with mint
meld with mellow rum
mix in lime for tint
ice-shake like a drum
meld with mellow rum
blend with raw cane sugar
ice-shake like a drum
serve in a servile beaker

blend with raw cane sugar
letting the words grow sweet
serve in a servile beaker
nobody serves them neat!
letting the words grow sweet
poetry is a Mojito!
nobody serves them neat!
never declare finito

poetry is a Mojito!
nothing but this is sure
never declare finito
shouldn't the work endure?
nothing but this is sure
hence the starry glint
shouldn't the work endure?
mince the words with mint



=======

For Priyanka Joseph -- in recollection of the Rumba Cafe.

The Mojito is a popular coctail originating in Cuba. (Caveat: among ingredients, the poem fails to mention club soda. Some recipes recommend powdered sugar; others call for sugar cane juice.) The Wikipedia notes the Mojito as the drink most favored by Ernest Hemingway.

This is no. 21 in a sequence, Early Autumn Pantoums