DID I THINK MY MOTHER WOULD DIE?
Children shouldn’t carry
certain knowledge
They should think about puppies—
about baby rabbits blinking open their eyes.
They should wonder how
corn stalks grow taller than their heads, and why
crows insist on calling
to an empty sky.
And some children are lucky
to have a mother or father
who makes pies.
After a long day of work,
she’d sink her hands
into the flour and lard
and knead and roll
press and fold
into perfect circles.
Apple.
Peach.
There was a small orchard
behind our house.
What I have of hers
hangs in my kitchen,
a wooden rolling pen
as if it were a rare painting.
A metal-looking hanger
heart twisted at the top,
two curved ends cradling the wood.
It has hung there
since 1992.
I bake with it still –
pies and cookies--
this worn wooden miracle.
Outside My Window 