Kevin Young, "Ode of Chicken," "Ode to Okra," "The Preserving"

In "Ode to Chicken" and "Ode to Okra" the speaker is addressing the actual foods. I didn't pick up on this instantly so it took me a few read throughs to catch what Kevin Young was doing. The speaker talks about how chicken and okra are so important to his livelihood. I thought it was funny how he mentioned that frog legs taste like chicken because this is something my mom used to always tell me when I was little. Also I've never thought about how we change the names of other animals or meats once they have been cooked but chicken is always simply referred to as chicken. In "Ode of Okra" the speaker talks about how okra was a main part of his diet because his father grew it and they made it into gumbo during the summers. He said he got sick of eating it all the time but it was one type of food security for his family and that was as good as he could ask for. "The Preserving" was kind of confusing to me, but I am not sure why. I realized that this poem is about the family making preserves  and other foods but it also deals with food security and the struggles of the family. All three of these poems deal with foods that most likely play a significant role in Kevin Young's memories of his family and childhood.