Thank you to Lisa for this fun prompt as follows:
I took a bunch of pictures of the busts yesterday and have included several of them here (please click on the images to enlarge them.) Your challenge, if you choose to accept it, gives you two options:
a) Create a sculpture (or bust) of yourself. Use any materials – real or imagined – using the guidelines within Victoria’s 2012 prompt.
b) Write an ekphrastic poem using one of the included busts. If you choose this option, please make sure you include artist attribution on your blog.
You can join in here: https://dversepoets.com/2025/04/15/dverse-poetics-tuesday-busted/
Memory Cake
dough is soft
squishy and sticky
flour coated fingers
knead and knead
gradually,
it becomes smooth
stretchy like elastic
split and rolled
into several balls
it’s ready for colouring
power, never liquid
each ball takes on
a new vibrancy
shades of pink, green,
purple, blue, and flesh
red and black are last
mucky and messy
hands stained purple
shaping and moulding
sharp tools cutting,
carving, and nipping
faces take shape
eyes, noses, mouths
hair: ringlets or straight
mother and children
flowers and vines
vision takes shape
memory cake for the future
young mother washing
while working from home
children on-line learning
in sunny backyard
Covid 19 encapsulated
in fondant and cake



What a lovely poem to go with the memory cake.
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Thank you, Esther. This cake represents my life during Covid. My job continued and was very busy as clients floundered to make financial strategies incorporating Covid, I had no help in the house or garden, and both sons were home schooling. Looking back it feels like a dream.
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I truly hope we don’t go through anything like that again. You’re right; it’s all a bit surreal.
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Me too. It ruined lives 🖤
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A memory cake–that is clever.
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Thank you, Jacqui. I created three during this weird time.
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Clever and cute creations Robbie!
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Thank you, Brad 💝
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You’re welcome. 😊
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Robbie, I love how you sculpt memory and emotion from sugar and strain.
~David
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Thank you, David. My way of recording things in life 💕
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🤗 🤗 🤗
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Your artwork is so precious ! ❤️
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Thank you 💗
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Brilliant poem, and love the cake.
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Thank you, Diana
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You’re welcome ❤️
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What a great sculpture, Robbie. I love what you did with the children! Did you eat them all up? :>0 !!
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Hi Dwight, yes, they were all eaten 🫶
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I love it!!! :>)
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Wonderful creative work!
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Thank you, Dwight
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You are welcome!
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Love this Robbie I love this 💜💜💜
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I’m so glad. A weird and surreal time, wasn’t it?
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It really was Robbie and it’s left deep effects on many of us to this day! 💜💜💜
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Yes, especially the youngsters.
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yes that’s so true and a lot of people who want to stay working from home 💜💜💜
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Pros and cons to working from home. You become very removed from colleagues and people.
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yes indeed and some more than others become isolated. Our eldest loves to be among the throng, our youngest having children, has an office in the garden and made a point of dressing and walking down his garden to it every day!
Our middle son could not do his job from home. Now the eldest goes into the Office most days, the middle lad was working during the pandemic and the youngest is back in the office three days a week as is his wife. It strange everyone y different. 🌞🌞
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I think it’s nice to have a few days a week at home if you can work from home.
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Lovely poem and very creative cake.
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Thank you, Michael. This one was a labour of love 🧡
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You can tell it was done with passion.
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Thank you
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You’re welcome, Robbie.
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😊💓
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😊🌷
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Such a talent in cake… but so hard to ever eat…
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Thank you, Bjorn. We do eat them 🥰
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So creative that it’s wonderful, Robbie.
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Thank you, Tim. I made three Covid cakes and they helped preserve memories of this time for me.
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My pleasure, Robbie. The cakes look so great that they make me want some cake with my coffee.
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🤗🍰☕️
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You make words edible
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Thank you, Annette
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Robbie, how enchanting your description of the process of creating 3D marvels. Each figure meticulously detailed. To think each part is edible is very cool. You poured a lot of love into this and it shows ❤ Thank you for sharing your creativity with this prompt.
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Thank you, Lisa. Your comment is very encouraging.
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You’re welcome. Years ago, my kids and I made dough Christmas ornaments and painted them. To do the same with edible cake, icing, etc. would be so much more complicated in comparison.
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I would think it’s quite similar 🌞
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Terrific artistry on display!
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I hope the mother and her children have recovered from their lock-down experience.
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Has anyone recovered, I wonder? I think the kids were permanently changed and probably so were we.
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Yes, you’re probably right. We have to be constantly on guard that we’re not safe.
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So creative Robbie 🤩
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Thank you, Maggie
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My pleasure Robbie.
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💚
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You are an incredible artist! I love the cake and the poem. 🌺🩷
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Thank you, Kymber. Your comment is appreciated.
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So clever and creative…and leaves me wanting more!
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Wanting more cake is most reasonable, Donna – smile! Thank you and Happy Easter.
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Your cakes are always works of art. (K)
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Thank you, Kerfe
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Wonderful poem. I love you creations.
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Thank you, Timothy. I’m pleased to know that.
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It is a beautiful and fun poem and I am very impressed by the fondant/artistic cake. Very imaginative and well done.
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HI Thomas, I’m delighted you enjoyed this post. This is one of my favourite of my cakes.
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A clever poem and images, Robbie. 🙂
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Thank you, Barbara.
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Such a wonderful poem, and those figures are amazing. The level of detail is incredible!
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I’m glad you like this post, Edward. Thank you for your observation.
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You’re very welcome, Robbie.
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Great use of sounds in the words you use in your tantalising verse.
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Thank you, Aiin
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I love the idea of a memory cake! As always, your poetry is superb, Robbie.
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Thank you, Rebecca. I appreciate your supportive comment.
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Cute cake, and a great description in verse of the process! A unique memory of the pandemic.
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Thank you, Audrey. I am glad I made three Covid 19 memory cakes. They certainly do help me remember this weird and scary time. Mind you, it still feels weird and scary now but for different reasons.
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I can’t imagine a cake to represent the present time. ☹
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Hmmm … I do have ideas
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A very creative response to the time and to the prompt,Robbie.
It was a weird and scary time!
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Yes, but now might be worst
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I was thinking that, but I didn’t want to say it. 😔
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What a wonderful talent you have dear friend
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Thank you, Sadje 🙏💞
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You’re welcome
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🧡
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Masterful, Robbie. Your Memory Cakes are extraordinary — as is your poem. Beautiful. 💙
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Thank you, Gwen, for the lovely comment.
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What a wonderful idea; a memory cake. And lovely poem to go with it.
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Hi Viv, thank you. This is one of three and I’m glad I made them.
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Wow! That’s brilliant… great poem, and lovely memory cake, …and yum!
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Thank you, Chris 🍰🫖☕️
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Gorgeous poem and cake, Robbie! You are wonderfully multi-talented.
Yvette M Calleiro 🙂
http://yvettemcalleiro.blogspot.com
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Thank you, Yvette 😘
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Oh my! Day by day, week by week, month by month … morphing into years ~ I’ve never seen anything as beautifully descriptive, as unique, as loving as your memory cake! EVER. I hope a local newspaper or tv station was able to highlight what you accomplished … others needed the inspiration it would have provided. I dumpster dived for wine bottles, my neighbors also made contributions, plus a few of my own. I created wine bottle art with alcohol inks, fingernail polish and acrylic paints. Then created bottle trees with those ‘glass drying rack things’! They still grace our deck.
My son who is developmentally disabled and lives with me works full time in a busy supermarket. Life went on for the employees, all masked up. I remember my overreaction after picking him up at the end of his shifts … bleach-watering the soles of his work shoes, clothes immediately into the wash, showering. We knew virtually nothing about COVID and I cannot imagine I was the only ‘over-reactor.’ Thank you for this delightful poem.
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Hi Helen, thank you for your lovely comment. Interestingly enough, I posted this cake to Facebook during the first lockdown and I was banned for 2 weeks for an inappropriate post. It was really weird. I am sure you were worried about your son, for him and for the rest of your family. My younger son is immune compromised and my mom was already over 80 so I was also paranoid. Thankfully it has passed 💖. Wishing you a wonderful Easter.
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This was so fun and so creative. What a perfect combination!
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I’m so pleased you enjoyed this post, Violet.
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Excellent take on the prompt, Robbie. As is often the case, you have delivered creative output that is totally unique, informative and fun.
Thank you!
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I’m pleased you enjoyed the creation of this cake 💖🍰🫖☕️
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Robbie’s cakes,
The Queens of Bake!
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Haha, you are a poet, Resa.
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🦄💕
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Only a baker who is a writer could create this poem (with fab photos to match).
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Thank you, Pam. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
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I don’t know which is more wonderful, the poem or the fondant. You are talented in many ways, Robbie. Bravo!
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This is so cute, Robbie!
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Robbie, your poem is wonderful, and your memory cake is incredible! I always thought I was a great baker until I saw your creations. Haha! Well, I still am, but yours take much more patience than I have. So, I appreciate your time! Great post! 🥰
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Hi Lauren, thank you. I enjoy cake decorating and fondant art but this is not the only concept of beautiful baking. I’ve seen some divine cakes that use cream, fruit and other ingredients to fabulous effect.
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By the way, Robbie, I just saw your review of Cora’s Quest, and you made my day and night! Thanks so much, and I’m glad you enjoyed her adventure. 💕
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It’s a gorgeous book, Lauren 🌸
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Hugs, Robbie 😎🙏
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You are a woman of many talents, Robbie. Great poem and I love those cakes. It was such a tough time for everyone. I hope it never happens again.
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