2004/spoons

Away from home
I miss my spoons,
the utensils
I have carefully
gathered and saved
over the years.
My favorite wide
stainless spoon
and spatula
my sister brought
back from Japan,
I’ve never seen
others like them.
The spatula like
the one my high
school friend’s
mother used
for scrambled eggs.
A college home ec
teacher, I knew
she knew best.
A tool it took me
some time to find.
These are the primary
ones, along with
the rubber scraper
which I learned
the hard way
has to be Rubbermaid.
All others are too stiff
to bend and fold.
And the wooden rice
paddles I’ve used
for decades.
I don’t need many
things.
Keep just enough
that the drawers
don’t seem too
hollow.
I keep my daily
tools on the stove,
of course.
In a stainless
canister with holes.
It’s hard to buy
new utensils,
I bring things
home and take
them back ’cause
they aren’t quite
right.
Spoons with handles
that are unpleasant
to hold.
Vegetable peelers
that won’t,
(things like that)
I keep trying to find
an all-stainless peeler
that won’t rust.
It seems simple
enough.
But creating a simple
life isn’t.
women know this
and take care of the good
things they get.
Away from home
I miss my spoons.

5/28/04