A poem reflecting on risk, choice and the unexpected lessons found in everyday moments
Bristol based writer Jaden Panashe approaches poetry as a way of making sense of the internal world and finding points of connection through shared experience. His first contribution to Underline, Mayonnaise, begins with a childhood memory and unfolds into a reflection on fear, choice and the small decisions that quietly shape our lives.
Mayonnaise
At first glance, Mayonnaise reads like a humorous story about a childhood encounter with an unfamiliar condiment. Beneath the surface, however, the poem becomes a meditation on risk and self determination. Through conversational language and a deliberately unpretentious voice, Panashe traces a line from a simple moment of hesitation to a broader philosophy of embracing uncertainty and acting despite fear.
The poem balances humour with sincerity, using an everyday experience to consider questions of agency, consequence and personal growth. In doing so, it finds something unexpectedly profound in the ordinary.
Mayonnaise is Jaden Panashe’s first contribution to Underline. Read the full poem and visit his contributor profile to find out more.
