December 4, 2003
Years of Kid Friendly Dinners-
homemade pancakes and strawberries,
Velveeta macaroni and carrot smiley faces,
elbows all over the table on Dad’s late nights.
Then our backs started to ache
from sitting up straight with napkins in our laps.
Eating other peoples’ food with wrinkles on our foreheads.
You sautéed spinach, listening to me
while I sat on the kitchen floor,
until you could no longer stand at the stove
and I leaned over your bed without a word,
feeding you Ensure® and ice.
Now I stand alone
using the microwave
burning spinach
thawing our memories.