by Gareth Mattey (b. 1993)
Melancholy (and Buttercream)
Language: English
Her voice To begin the recipe His voice She cracks a single egg, slowly Her voice Item one: two hands With long nails - Worn and red and tom and bled His voice She cracks another egg. quickly She misses the bowl Her voice Item two: two lips Sweet enough His voice She adds far too much flour and sugar She doesn't care She whisks, furiously Her voice Item three: two grey eyes With borowed lids His voice She drops in a packet of chocolate flavouring Her voice Item four: my hair His voice She expects me to pick it up Her voice One item but thousands really I should count them individually His voice She doesn't know i won't Her voice But I won't His voice She acquires a baking tray Her voice Item five: two armpits With a forest of hair His voice She pours the thick mixture unevenly She doesn't care Her voice Item six: a heart Unlucky for some His voice She doesn't intend to eat it Her voice Item seven: a voice His voice She intends for me to eat it Her voice Hello? Can you hear me? His voice She doesn't know I won't Her voice Raw until the last ... His voice She puts everything into the oven Her voice Item eight: two legs Pacing its walls Over and over and over and over... His voice She sets a timer Her voice They understand me. His voice She waits She waits for me Her voice Item nine: two arms That wish they hadn't broken so many eggs in my time. Broken eggs make a burnt cake. His voice She hears the timer She withdraws the burnt cake Her voice Item ten: an alien object Between my legs His voice She decorates it in chocolate buttercream frosting Her voice Item eleven: an empty stomach With a solution For the future His voice She finishes the cake Her voice And Item twelve: my mind Weathering a storm His voice She spies my hunger Her voice Item after item after item after item until: His voice She eats me in one bite Her voice I wait I eat I eat the cake.
Text Authorship:
- by Gareth Mattey (b. 1993), "Melancholy (and Buttercream)" [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Kerensa Briggs (b. 1991), "Melancholy (and Buttercream)" [ mezzo-soprano, baritone and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2026-02-18
Line count: 102
Word count: 364