I like Salt

Hello there HildegardHope!!

This is Eros here with a review for you!

First of the title triggered my gustatory senses and tricked me psychologically into feeling that taste of salty on the taste buds of my tongue! Xd

Well, I must say at some point in our lives we have DEFINITELY eaten salt like that ... well for me personality it's not like I absolutely love salt and I'm addicted to it or something, but yeah i also like salt lol.

And yeah it hurts when you are done is so true!
Every line is filled with salt and it was awesome to read.
Enjoyed the saltiness of the poem so much.
But the crying and Licking the tears was a bit hilarious and I liked it!

Actually from health point of view I remember I used to get bad cravings of salt and I searched up on the internet about why this happens and they said it's because you may have some deficiencies in the sales like magnesium or sodium and these cravings are a way of the body to get you fulfil them.

And in general at lunch or dinner my family says that I eat more salt than they do ...like when the vegetable or curry feels "bit too salty" foe my family, I am like nah it's nice!

So yeah the poem was relatable too xd
Really enjoyed reading this piece of work by you!
Keep writing such amazing works <3
Have a nice day/night ahead!
Lots of love
Eros <3
Eros

First off I <3 Salt!

I love this because I can relate to this 110%. I clicked on this to get a review for today done but no. I fell in love with this poem. Salt is bad for you but it is delectable. I don't have anything else to say but here you go:

I feel like this is kind of like a psychological warfare situation. Where your body tells you no but your mind tells you yes. I love how you repeated "I like salt" like Logan15 said because it gives me more reason to love this poem. It will forever be in my mind.

Love,
oc3an

Hello!
I like salt, too.
One of my favorite parts is the repetition of "I like salt." I enjoy repetition in poems, especially when it ties in the title.
I lick my tears when I cry too, so that part was fun to write. I like that you added the part about crying in front of your peers. I understand the fear that comes with doing this.
My favorite lines were probably: "not to confuse,/I like the bitter and sweets too/drink straight lemon juice/rub sugar into wounds/but I like salt." Instead of using the common saying "Rub salt into wounds," you used sugar. This emphasizes your point of liking sweet and bitter things, and not just salt.
The line "bite a rock" made me laugh because I did that once as a child.
Overall, I love the poem!
Through the last half of the poem, I started to interpret the salt as being tears. I think this made a lot of sense and made it really nice to connect to.
The poem flows very nicely, and I really enjoyed reading it! I can't wait to read more of your works!
And finally, I like how you ended the poem by using the same repeated line from throughout the entire poem!
Also, some of my best poems have been written in class too
Have a wonderful day/night!

This poem, I Like Salt, is an intriguing, layered exploration of emotion, self-awareness, and a deep-seated relationship with both physical and psychological pain. Through the repeated motif of salt, the speaker articulates a kind of personal and emotional salinity that runs through their life—both as a source of comfort and as an indication of internal struggle. The poem’s bold repetition, raw introspection, and complex imagery evoke a visceral sense of emotional complexity, where love, loss, and self-reflection intersect in a tangled but powerful way. The poem follows a free verse structure, with loose, unrestrained lines that mirror the speaker’s stream-of-consciousness narrative. The informal, conversational tone is emphasized by the repeated, almost incantatory line “I like salt,” which provides a rhythmic anchor throughout the poem. This refrain acts like a mantra, both a comfort and a fixation, grounding the speaker’s emotional musings in a single object of desire and need. The repetition of "I like salt" also introduces a sense of obsessive attachment, almost as though the speaker is trying to convince themselves, or others, of the importance and comfort of salt in their life.

The lack of conventional punctuation or strict line breaks creates a sense of disjointedness, reflecting the speaker’s emotional fragmentation and inner turbulence. The free-flowing nature of the verse further underscores the chaotic, uncontrolled aspects of both the speaker’s thoughts and their emotional experiences. The poem’s irregularity—especially the transitions between images, confessions, and contradictions—adds to the sense of an unresolved inner struggle. The language in I Like Salt is visceral and direct, contributing to the intensity of the speaker’s emotional landscape. The image of “brine” pouring from the mouth and “licking tears” is stark and tactile, inviting the reader to physically feel the act of crying and the salty sensation that accompanies it. The metaphorical salt in the tears also suggests emotional release, cleansing, and renewal, but with an edge of bitterness and sorrow.

The references to “pink like me” and “rubbed my freckles off to sea” carry a personal tone, grounding the speaker’s experience in their own body. The sea, a recurring symbol in literature for both vastness and chaos, becomes an emotional space in the poem where the speaker’s tears are metaphorically returned to the natural world. This return to the sea suggests that, like salt itself, the speaker's emotions may be cyclical—ever-present, ever-returning, yet never fully resolved.

Tone and Emotional Impact
The tone of the poem is intimate and confessional, laced with both vulnerability and defiance. The speaker seems to be laying bare their internal contradictions—desire for connection, emotional numbness, and a complicated relationship with pain and grief. There’s a quiet acceptance in the repeated phrase “I like salt,” which is both a comforting refrain and a declaration of the speaker’s identity. It is as if they are saying, “This is who I am. This is what I need to survive.”

However, there is also an undertone of sadness and disillusionment, particularly when the speaker reflects on their inability to cry at the funeral or their ambivalence toward their family. These moments highlight the emotional distance the speaker feels, even while expressing such deep, complex feelings. I Like Salt is a poignant and evocative poem that delves into the complexities of emotion, identity, and the paradoxical relationship between pleasure and pain. Through the repeated imagery of salt, the speaker explores how emotional experiences can be both self-soothing and self-destructive. The poem's unapologetic embrace of this tension—between love and apathy, joy and sorrow—invites the reader to reflect on their own experiences with emotional release, vulnerability, and the ways in which we cope with the complexities of life. Ultimately, the poem presents salt as both a necessity and a burden, encapsulating the idea that some parts of us are just as much about the tears we shed as the sustenance we crave.