The Latin Deli: An Ars Poetica

Sense Imagery describes a poet’s ability to recreate sounds, smells, sights, textures, and tastes for the reader. In “The Latin Deli: An Ars Poetica,” Cofer uses images so readers can experience the store with all five senses.

Visual images fill the poem, from the “dried codfish” (Line 5) in a bin to the Bustelo coffee to the “Suspiros” (Line 27) on the shelf in this crowded store. Cofer draws the reader’s attention to specific foods and objects to convey the deli’s wealth of goods from Latin American countries. Further, the poet describes the store owner herself, with her warm smile, “plain wide face” (Line 20), and “ample bosom / resting on her plump arms […]” (Lines 20-21). Her motherly appearance adds to the store’s welcoming atmosphere.

The food items throughout the store provide gustatory (taste), olfactory (smell), tactile (touch or texture), and visual imagery to the poem. Cofer identifies “the heady mix of smells” (Line 4) inside, with cod and plantain smells combining with the scents of coffee, sandwich ingredients, and other untold items. Readers may imagine the salty flavor of the cod, the sweetness of the plantains, the sugary meringues, or the savory jamón y queso as Cofer names them.