Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Cooking Light
He bought ten pounds of grace and two potatoes
Walked home with a sense of foreboding and two dollars in his pocket
At home, he peeled the potatoes and boiled them with the grace
The water, starchy and a bit wondrous, made ten small cups of tea
He drank each in three sips forgiving any who had forsaken him
When he was finished his stomach was warm and full, his mind at peace
He slept that night heavy with dreams, dreams of flying and of earnest love
When he awoke to the sound of rain he remembered his father's shortcomings
He used the leftover grace to clean house, remembering Christmas morning in Raleigh
And his father's hands building his first bicycle by the light of the tree
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for me it was the train set...putting it together under the Christmas lights... the first one we ever had...
ReplyDelete"Walked home with a sense of foreboding and two dollars in his pocket"
a feeling that is so familiar...
Nothing like a little potato tea and forgiveness. And if there isn't a little grace for a man who can build a bicycle when the need arises, then I don't even know what to say. Happy New Year, HTM!
ReplyDeletepotato tea is new to me. perhaps it'll help with forgiveness, and memory. HNY, Corey ~
ReplyDeleteThere's a little whimsy, a little sorrow, change and shaken up worlds here, but a lot more grace and sense of the order than only good can bring. An excellent way to write in the new year, Corey, remembering the gifts of the old.
ReplyDeleteI love this mix of potatoes, grace, forgiveness and potato tea. Poignant memory at the close of the poem. Sigh. Great write, Corey!
ReplyDeleteI agree there is whimsy and sorrow in this....I don't travel to Christmas past very often..there were too many tears. Such a fantastic piece!!
ReplyDeleteVery nice to make tea, thinking of one who made something for thee. Nice too to use the grace in preparing the rooms to contain guests, I hope, for a very grace filled New Year.
ReplyDeleteWow. That is one of the coolest things I've ever read
ReplyDeleteGrace carries us so very far. Thank you for reminding me to create with it and swallow it all. So glad to be visiting you again, Corey!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.kimnelsonwrites.com/2014/01/02/resolve/
i hope grace tastes like mint because otherwise that tea sounds really nasty. but, still, more than just a little bit wondrous.
ReplyDeleteThis is really a poem that is sprinkled with a bit of fairy dust… it delights and makes us believe we can be so much better. I'm off to buy potatoes and grace :) Just loved this poem.
ReplyDeleteYour last line brought tingles of recognition...that even though the short-comings there was the grace and the memory of a small beautiful thing he did for you. Geez kinda makes me wanna cry out loud...this is touching in other words. Thank you Hero-Corey. :)
ReplyDeletethis one is jam packed with richness! Well done you!
ReplyDeleteThat was beautiful, I loved the use of grace. Very moving.
ReplyDeletePea
This is a little more fanciful and has less of an edge than your normal run of work, but it lacks none of the quality; this is terrific, top-shelf stuff.
ReplyDeleteI read this earlier in the week, and I just love it, Corey. Your voice is always so fresh and authentic - and no one knows how to express the strengths and weaknesses of the human heart as well as you.
ReplyDeleteI wish you the very best of days in 2014.
I love how you used grace here, both abstract and as living thing ~ Very unique voice as Kerry said ~
ReplyDeletegrace, grace, grace, how we learn to lean on it...and memory, to resurrect and warm and answer...you open the doors wide, my friend
ReplyDelete