metaphor for US?

to be as a curry

from many, one--

as somehow, some way

people from all over the world,

each unique individuals,

add back story of variegated culture and self 

and make a whole,

what metaphor can best hold that process, 

at its best, of merging into unity as a country

of becoming one entity made up from plural selves?

maybe melting-pot, 

a traditional view that we are as metal melted,

and we each become as the other,

our differences swallowed in our similarity?

a friend has argued that tossed salad works for him,

each part fully distinct, and still it’s a whole,

another friend argues for a quilt,

each square distinct yet part of the larger,

a Chinatown within a large city,

I’ve argued for stew,

each part distinguishable

while still giving up its edges for the larger whole,

this week I hear of a chef from India

who presents curry as a mix of many,

in which the textures, the spices, the individual essences

blend into a distinctive whole,

with the unique power of each part

alive and well in a whole that can be magnificent,

balanced, and with a sauce that connects and harmonizes it all,

may we as a country be as a curry.

by Henry H. Walker

September 27, ’13
image courtesy of google images