John RC Potter | The Heart of an Artichoke

“Remind me to tell you about the time I looked into the heart of an artichoke.”

If only my sister, Barb
had listened to the
witty and sage advice
of Bette Davis in
All About Eve, in her
role as Margo Channing!
Perhaps then she would
not have been such a
glutton when it came
to eating too many
savoury artichokes.
What an artichoke-loving kook!

“Remind me to tell you about the time I looked into the heart of a glutton.”

Don’t get me wrong; I love
and adore my younger sister.
She and my two older sisters
flew halfway around the world
to visit me in Izmir, Turkey.
Barb spied a glorious, green cluster
of artichokes in an open market.
That evening, she ate them all,
with half a jar of mayonnaise,
washed down with way too many
glasses of sweet, white wine.
Just look at that green-faced gal puke!

“Remind me to tell you about the time I looked into the heart of an artichoke.”

JOHN RC POTTER is an international educator from Canada who lives in Istanbul.  He has experienced a revolution (Indonesia), air strikes (Israel), earthquakes (Turkey), boredom (UAE), and blinding snow blizzards (Canada), the last being the subject of his story, ‘Snowbound in the House of God’ (Memoirist). The author’s poems, stories, essays, articles, and reviews have been published in various magazines and journals. Selected publications: PROSE – ‘She Got What She Deserved’ (Literary Yard); ‘Destination: Toronto @ Midnight’ (Halfway Down The Stairs); POETRY – ‘Amanuensis’ (New English Review); ‘A Year in Israel, Twelve Months in Tel Aviv’ (Culterate Magazine); REVIEW – ‘Tezer Özlü’s Cold Nights of Childhood’; (New English Review); ‘Kenan Orhan’s I Am My Country And Other Stories’ (Bosphorus Review of Books).  His story, ‘Ruth’s World’ was a Pushcart Prize nominee, and his poem, ‘Tomato Heart’ was nominated for the Best of the Net Award. The author’s gay-themed children’s picture book, The First Adventures of Walli and Magoo, is scheduled for publication.

Website: https://johnrcpotterauthor.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnRCPotter