Laboring in the tiny cape cod kitchen
Sliced eggplant soaking up vegetable oil
As she fries the black skin
Layering with marinara and ricotta cheese
Her artistic starved hands build
The aromatic pleasured casserole
Moisture oozes from the tomatoes
The crispy top flourishes abstract design
Baking away my father’s hidden cancer
Hoping his diabetic needle gives him eating freedom
Squeezing us into the Formica table
Locked into place
Where chairs scrape against the plywood walls
The soggy Long Island air pulls our sweat
Never use the dining room
She passed the rigid control baton to me
Stomach expands so I loosen my belt
Unzip my pants
I can breathe
Allow my Mom’s cooking to bring her back to life.
Thanks again for everything!!
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Beautiful…leaves me hungry!
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