"The Joy of Cooking"

"The Joy of Cooking"
Elaine Magarrell

Now despite what this poem shows about siblings, siblings actually always get along. The narrator uses the cooking terms to describe the siblings' personalities. I guess in a way this is the narrator's way of getting back at their siblings. I felt the sister's tongue symbolized that the sister does not carefully chose her words. The speaker say "it will probably grow back" which makes me think that their annoyance with the sister comes from a bad habit of the sister. In other words, the sister's "issue" is one that she may not necessarily be able to help.  The brother, I interpreted, is a mean and cold-hearted human being. His heart was "firm and rather dry" and his heart "barely feeds two." Perhaps the brother's heart was two sizes too small?

Originally when I read this poem, I found it to be a little extreme. I do not believe people would actually willing cook their siblings' organs, but at the same time I knew it was symbolic. The tone is one that is very steady, and does not change. I felt the tone was almost monotone, like cooking the organs of their siblings' was not a big deal. The speaker's personality is reveled in their take on the siblings. I wonder what body part the siblings would cook of the narrator?