I glimpsed history
in a cinnamon bun.
Cinnamomum
cassia, tamale…
millennia murmur
of an evergreen bark
born in tropical lands,
tender quills
traded across oceans, deserts
for Gods, monarchs and feasts
Today: a stick for hot cider, or brown powder in a spice jar.
©2017 Ontheland
This was a quadrille for dVerse using the word ‘spice’. For cinnamon, Cinnamomum is the plant genus. Cassia and Tamale are two species names. The photos are offered for public use through Pixabay: cinnamon sticks and spice jars.
Ontheland 
I remember a long time ago when I could get “true cinnamon” sticks… so much more fragile and thin… but I liked its taste better.
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Yes some are much finer and smoother than others…
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Evokes the spice trail. Brilliant.
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Thanks Paul
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Seldom do we think of its journey to our shelves. Nicely written reminder.
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These poems are so yummy!
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Lovely writing, evoking feelings of mystery and far away cultures and lands.
I do love cinnamon and use it quite frequently in baking.
miriam
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wonderful – an invitation to think more deeply about everyday things
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Lovely quadrille with a history lesson. Well done.
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Amazing how something so special, prized by royalty is so prosaic today. I liked where this poem brought me!
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Yes and I also find it fascinating how a spice that only grows in tropical parts of the world has been used in more temperate locations for centuries…
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Cinnamon is one of the few spices I can recognize by smell. I didn’t know it came from an evergreen bark.
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I like knowing about plants of all kinds so I looked it up for the poem. Another interesting tidbit which didn’t make the poem is that the cinnamon tubes are from the inner bark which curls when extracted…
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Cinnamon, a great scent it gives. Love your poem.
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Thank you Helene 🙂
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Something we take for granted while those before us journeyed hard for it. Thanks for an informative quadrille.
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Oh, I love this journey. Imagine how exotic it must have been 500 years ago, for Northern Europeans, and yet we take it for granted now.
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Spices – the history of empires!
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“I glimpsed history
in a cinnamon bun.” What a tantalising beginning, followed with fulfilling beautiful words.
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Thank you 🙂
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Very nice – as others have said – reminder of the long journey that our stuff takes to grace our tables.
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Ah yes….I’m thinking about the spice trail here……….glimpsing history in a cinnamon bun. Says so much about the place spices have played in history, exploration, trade. Well done!
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Thank you Lillian.
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Wonderful how you see much into your morning treat. It’s like true prayer.
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Incredible poetic story for one little cinnamon stick Janice.
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Thanks Denis
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Reminds me of my grandmother’s baking for Christmas! 😀😀 I never considered its exotic journey. Lovely descriptions in your poem, Janice.
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Thank you 🙂
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Everything has its own history. I love cinnamon. Lovely poem, Janice. 😀 xx
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Thanks Vashti 🙂
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Love it!
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