Poetry is a shortcut to literacy. This book captures the rhyme and rhythm of words. It is about feelings and emotions from the heart. It is about the soul. We feed the soul with poetry. It is about life as we experience multiculturalism in the melting pot of New York. It describes the flavor of words and beats as they occur on a daily basis in the metropolitan areas of the cities. Cooked-Up Poetry is about the different ways that people express themselves on a daily basis. It shows the essence of living by lining up passion with poetry. It shows us that we are one in the spirit and that we can learn from each other in spite of our different ways of living, caring, and sharing. This book celebrates cultures as being at the center of everything that we do.