The Eleventh Day of Poetry

FAMILY ALBUM




It's colder than predicted
beyond
the mothering heat of the kitchen,
beyond the
comforting clutter
of once-a-year ingredients
and the waltzing scents
of nutmeg and ginger.

From the rooftop,
icicles hang down like
December fingers easing into view,
as excited as children underfoot
eager
to collect sweet and gooey batter
from mixing bowls full
of doubled recipes and grandparent traditions.

Mouths water
for the same sensations
our fathers
craved when they
were half our age and we wander,
hungry travelers
walking over bridges
between generations
to dinner tables
full of welcome,
invisible
guests.

Yes,
it's colder than expected
outside,
but inside
it's Christmas-cookie warm,
hearts rising from decades-ago burns
on the pages of old cookbooks.


by Bryan Borland from SHAKE: The Poetry of Bryan Borland.

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Thanks, Bryan, for taking part in our Twelve Days of Poetry Project! Merry Christmas to you.