"The Ghost"

THE GHOST

by: Charles Baudelaire

OFTLY as brown-eyed Angels rove

I will return to thy alcove,

And glide upon the night to thee,

Treading the shadows silently.




And I will give to thee, my own,

Kisses as icy as the moon,

And the caresses of a snake

Cold gliding in the thorny brake.




And when returns the livid morn

Thou shalt find all my place forlorn

And chilly, till the falling night.




Others would rule by tenderness

Over thy life and youthfulness,

But I would conquer thee by fright!

[I've just stumbled across the works of Charles Baudelaire. Naturally, like any Lemony Snicket fan, I was instantly intrigued by this poet's name and had to investigate. This is one of my favorites so far. Wow...I really love how this poem tiptoes back and forth across the line between "beautiful" and "haunting". It gives me goosebumps! The first line is probably my most favorite line of poetry EVER.]

All Hail the Mighty Ketchup!

So today, in a desperate attempt to avoid English assignments and the multiple projects and essays I have due in the upcoming week or so, I resorted to reading the back of the ketchup bottle.

I've only recently started liking ketchup; like, say, the last four or five months or so. Prior to that, I HATED ketchup ALMOST as much as I hate mustard. But for whatever strange reason, I've suddenly started liking ketchup.

And it's a good thing, too!

I had a few startling realizations today during my ketchup-bottle-reading. First of all, ketchup is fat free. Yeah. Seriously. I mean, I'm far from being the world's heathiest eater or anything, but still. It's nice to learn that a food/condiment I LIKE, one that actually tastes GOOD, can be enjoyed without any guilt about extra calories.

Secondly, according to the nifty label on the back of the bottle, ketchup is full of lycopene, which I guess I already knew, somewhere deep down, because I knew tomatoes are full of lycopene and it really is just a logical conclusion. However, I didn't really know much about what lycopene WAS. So I found myself wondering, "What exactly IS lycopene, and what does it do? Oh, how I wish I could find out more!"

And, wonder of wonders, I found that as I kept reading, the label solved that problem for me: "Go to http://www.lycopene.org/ to find out more!" (Isn't it great when things just work out like that?! If only all questions in life were so easily answered.....!)

So, naturally, I did. And I found out that lycopene is an antioxident which may help strengthen your immune system, prevent diabetes, osteoporosis, skin aging AND has even been shown (in some studies) to lower your risk for heart disease and cancer!

So here's to ketchup! *applauds* Go get yourself some french fries or chicken nuggets or a nice cheeseburger and go heavy on the ketchup to celebrate this marvelous condiment!