Kitchen Talk


My grandmother whom I write of here, mother of my own mom, has been gone from us more than 30 years now,  mere months after she held our youngest newborn daughter. As I spend time now with my older granddaughters who are 7 and 9 years of age, in the kitchen or elsewhere, I remember spending time with my grandmother. In her kitchen, after she moved off the farm. Enjoy!





Kitchen Talk                                                                                                                                

While my grandmother and I made pancakes
she talked of home
starting with the sifting of flour into the bowl
continuing through the cracking of eggs
and measuring milk

Fast as her spoon stirred
all this talk of sisters and hijinks
like the ingredients had loosed her tongue

She was silent for awhile
as if she had let out one too many secrets
in her kitchen spiced with sausage and sauerkraut
and geraniums flowering in summer windows

Poured batter into sizzling oil
watched the bubbles rise
and the stories build
faster than her homemade bread

Flipped over cakes, perfectly browned
added them to the steaming heap
Grandpa ready with his fork
maple syrup and butter waiting

and the stories stop here

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