(recipes)

I think of the
recipes I have
seen that Mother
wrote – or saved.
Of how close &
real it makes
her seem,
more than photos
or stories people
have to tell.
The words which
are gone now
from our tongue,
her crumb-top
cobbler with
oleo.

My sister has
her cookbook,
its broken spine
& soiled plaid cover.
A Betty Crocker
I believe
or perhaps
House & Garden
with newspaper clippings
stuck into
its pages,
so that it
bulges open,
and recipes
fly from it
when you
touch it,
as though
demanding
to be cooked.

3/17/99