dollie tries a new recipe that turns out great
all veggies and broth and her maestro touch with
the spices plus sliced kielbasa her very own impertinence
to the book just gumbo after all but with magic fresh French
bread we scored earlier at the out-of-town bakery
in our silly tootling through the boonies all day all
coming together in one great Ah here at our
kitchen table under the warm light with the winter’s
early dark outside solid as stone.
so it hits us together i think but
i say it first: Dad would have loved this soup
sure he was crazy for beans or anything tasty those
bad years when mom couldn’t stand up to the stove
but he swore he had the best cook in town Dad
who could freeze you with a word ailing weary
at the brink still so nice about that
the way you took care of him near the end love
god how i want to serve him a bowl just one just that right now
and Mom too dollie points out and me sure she loved
to eat those early years starving in the camps gave
her that forever no cook but loved her meals
skinny as a stick but loved food and the people part
even those years of stomach trouble when every bite was pain later
and David, we say more or less together, sweet
David gone so early kids still young everyone wrecked,
that posole he made one year oh what a thing
on fire with New Mexico chiles more like wine not really
too hot a whole pig’s head in the pot god
would he love a bowl of this or what yeah
David we say and lean our heads together
to not say Norah oh Norah whose name five
years on we still can’t quite a child for god’s sake
purple nails & pretty tan the always smile a child
our goofy gopher loved everything god
the hurt the why the wrongness but sure loved
cooking with grandma
so here they all are, summoned from somewhere
this winter evening in the clean kitchen, places
ready at the big oak table, pot
cooling on the stove but still too warm
to scoop the portions for friends and freezer later:
us and soup and this queer warm winter
where nothing changes and everything does,
this little moment, forever.
~
