Food is a Good Thing

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She has everything and anything in her kitchen.

What do you want to eat?

I know she has it. 

Don’t put any mail or papers on the table

    That’s for show.

The ink will mark the printed cloth

     Covering it.

I know she keeps her potatoes and onions

     Under this table. Its skirt is to the 

     Floor and hides them like thick ankles

     That make no bridge between foot and

     Calf—just connect.

Oh—and the soda is all out on the porch.

And there’s a reading lamp out of place at

     The kitchen table’s head so he can

     Read the paper there.

And she keeps sheets covering the 

     couch, the throw rugs upside-down—

     Except in case of company.

I am not company.

(Not really.)

I know she keeps everything

I’ve seen inside her closets

I’ve seen her basement

I know for years no one could shower in

The hall bathroom—no showerhead

Where was it? She’d hidden safely so

No one could lock himself in for a 

Too-long-shower she couldn’t put a

Limit on.

So everyone used her master bath that had

A broken lock. That shower always

Needed to be scrubbed. Hard.

I know the kitchen used to be a garage.

But six people had to live here; four

Children had to grow. (So the garage was converted)

It is a huge kitchen. She has everything

     And everything in her kitchen

What do you want to eat?

I know she has it.

She’ll feed you—she’ll take you in

She might even care about you

But remember this is her house

She runs it—she might own you